John,
Sorry 'bout that!
Been there, done that.
My Ford crate motor failed at 812 miles, eating a distributor gear/bearings/cam etc. NO compensation from Ford
I've had four automatic transmissions - the first three failed. Und so weiter...
I found a guy who knows how to build an automatic: Carl Rossler in Ohio. I had the engine redone by Leggett Engine Research in MD.
Since then I've had more than 25,000 grin-filled miles.
So hang in there, know that this is sometimes a test to see if you really want to do this.
Bottom line: it
is worth it!
Tom