'94 VW Jetta GL Fail to start (Crank OK)

The Ignition Transformer was recently replaced after the car failed to start. Though the engine turns on normally, the car fails to ignite. At the time of repair and towing, they reported that there was no spark in the Ignition coil.

Coincidentally, I have also observed that after the car finally starts that the vehicle has irregular shift patterns. The RPMs increase while the car has difficulty transitioning from 2nd to 3rd and so on. Please help and thank you for reading.