5K tranny problems

[DWeil2 <DWeil2@aol.com>]

Yesterday was a lousy Quattro day (clear and high 60s) but since I've only got
a 5K anyway, it was no big deal.

I thought I'd take her out for an expressway spin, something that I have been
holding off on because of the (auto)transmission and the leak.  Of course, I
got the seals fixed and was ready to try it out since after about a week of
in-town driving, it seemed to work fairly well, with only a little slipping
and hunting every once in a while.

When I got on the expressway, I couldn't seem to get it out of second.  I was
running close to 80 at 5000 RPM which *sounded* sporty <g>.  Finally it did
shift after backing off the throttle a little.

Then I pulled off onto an Audi-approved twisty, hilly road.  I noticed it
starting to slip a bit and finally it slipped completely out of gear in
second.  I pulled over, restarted it and it was fine for a minute or two.
Then the same thing.  I got back home by pulling over and restarting about 10
times.  Each time, it worked fine for about a mile.

This morning I searched the archives and found one post from someone with
almost the same problem (fixed seals, slipping tranny), to which Phil wrote,
check the fluid.

So I did this morning and it *appears* to have been overfilled.  I was only
able to drive it about 3 miles before it started slipping out of gear so I
don't know if it was completely warmed up.  Also, I started hearing a
"whirring" noise in the transmission which was intermittent.

Would the overfilled transmission cause those symptoms and is it likely to
have done damage to those new seals or the gears?  Or is it simply a dying
transmission?  Please Audi-gods, no!!!!  Are there any other things to look
for as far as potential *minor* problems like linkages, etc?  

Can I syphon the excess out while it's running to make it easier to check the
level?

d(preparing to sacrifice a virgin to the gods if that what it takes)weil