Slow start..get up and go

I have a 98 ford Escort and it has been giving me problems accelerating. I warm my car up for about 5-10 minutes. Once I pull out of the parking space everything seems fine till I have to sit at my first light. After the light turns green I press on the gas and it will move but very slowly. I can here the engine revving up but I?m moving very very slow. Eventually, after a few seconds (10-20 sec) it will kick over and start to drive normally. Then everything is fine after this one time. Except for this one time it would not go over 30 for a few minutes. Any ideas what this could be?



Thanks

Manual or automatic? How many miles? Does the engine rev up quickly when you press the gas pedal?

It is an automatic with close to 97K miles. Yes the engine does rev up quickly when I press the gas pedal.

When is the last time you checked the transmission fluid level? Do that first. If it is low, find the leak and have someone look at fixing it.

If your transmission fluid is ok you’ll probably need to get it to a good transmission shop.

Is the check engine light on?

I had my transmission fluid along with my other fluids flushed and refilled maybe mid last year.
The engine light is not on.
Thank you for your responses.

Check the transmission fluid now. Wipe the dip stick with a white paper towel and smell the fluid. Make note of the color of the fluid and if it smells burned. It would probably help if you have some new fluid of the same brand that was put in your car to compare.