2001 Jeep Wrangler that hates highways

If your mechanic is not a transmission specialist then - no offense to him/her - but s/he is probably not qualified to make any sound judgments about it. You need to find your most reputable, local, independent transmission shop & have them look at it.

Has the check engine light come on? Regardless of that, has the computer been scanned for error codes? If so, what were they.