It is clear that proactive maintenance for the 722.9 transmission is completely necessary (oil change, filter, etc.). When I dropped my ATF oil pan this weekend to change the oil and filter, it was clean, suggesting that the prior owner did the oil change. My car has never had transmission problems, knock on wood, most likely because the oil had been changed. This is just not one of those cars where you can put it off. It also sounds like the problems start with in relatively low mileage situations. Get it done. I did a thread yesterday on how to change the ATF oil, feel free to check it out and comment. Have a great day.