E55 Bulldog

Hey guys, I just picked up a 2005 E55 with 18,000 miles, owned by and old man that babied it like the rest of his 6 cars. I have been driving it for about 3 weeks. I have reset the ECU and this baby is a monster... but I don't drive aggressive all the time so the computer is trying to match my style of driving..... My questions is, This is my first automatic tran car and I am having a hard time determining if it is shifting hard or it is just me.... when I drive like grandpa it is a smooth shifter but once I get to open road and decide to get on it from a stop or crawl it seems that it shifts hard into 2nd... kinda like the beast under the hood is taking a deep breath before it takes off....

Any idea.... like I said I have always had 6 speed manual so I can't tell and the whole ECU thing is new to me too.

Thanks for any input.