I put the Transgo HD kit in with all the other heavy duty racing parts so it will override any of the transmission defaults that are not controlled by the computer. It will pretty much let me shift it into any gear that wont blow the engine or trans. I don't think manually shifting is going to help this one though. The shift points are pretty low already and other than the lockup being a bit higher than it needs to be it seems fine as is. I will probably change the computer's programming and set it to lock up at 40 instead of 45 in 4th and set it to lock up at 30-35 in 3rd gear.
The low stall converter has probably added at least a second to 0-60. It can pull itself over a speed bump if you stop against it. You won't sit anywhere in gear without holding the brakes pretty good. It wants to take off as soon as it is in gear. I like the feel of it in that van it suits the way it drives and the fact that it keeps the transmission much cooler is always a plus. Less heat generated is less fuel used.
A manual lockup switch would probably get a pretty good gain in mileage if you could keep track of using it and not killing the motor all the time by forgetting it is on
