99 Ford Escort with Code P1744

This car takes some definite massaging to get it to change gears, especially from about 20-35mph. Sometimes, it will flat-out refuse to engage and will actually SLOW DOWN as the RPMs go crazy.



So Autozone was nice enough to code the problem, which they show as a transmission code and I’ve since learned that this maybe an issue with the TCC/Solenoid or the Speed/Gear senses. I’m wondering what kind of labor/parts costs to expect on a repair if it is one of these conditions.



This is a car I’m not wanting to invest much in at 165k miles, So I don’t want to get totally ripped off on this, especially since I live in a town where people are used to charging whatever they can get away with (lots of well-off people with less time than money). If it’s too expensive, I’ll need to find me a very lenient inspector.