ok i pulled the converter and it had very fine particles in the fluid. i then put the input shaft into the converter and spun it with my cordless drill and can feel some roughness and hear some noise. it is on its way back to tci for some investigation. very weird problem and hopefully it is the converter i tore the tranny down and have found no troubles. the material is a brass or bronze color and checked all parts in the tranny for wear but it is in excellent shape.