Ok ... it's back from the shop and feels different. Way less slipping, but still not 100% smooth trans shifts ... but that's maybe just the way a 150K unit will be.
Scan codes were: P0017, P0172, P0175.
A couple of weeks in ...
Timing chain is all good – no engine lights coming on.
BUT the trans is still slipping ... between 3 and 4. On change it feels unengaged, revision a bit (feels like slipping) and then clunks into gear. This is intermittent ... and nothing in particular prompts it – can happen with regular, gentle driving as anything else (like hills, speed etc.)
I took it back to the trans shop and they test drive it with me. Typically, they could not get it to slip the way it can for me, but they did recognise a slight slip ... not enough to warrant any work. And they put the scanner to it and it all came up clear.
NOW ... this all started immediately after a trans service that included a solenoid replacement – and everybody said the slipping was associated with the timing chain issue and the correlation codes etc.
The guy at the trans shop said it would be expensive to do anything ... meaning as soon as the box is open to fix anything, you may as well go through the whole thing.
And btw, mechanic who did the timing chain repair reported back that they sense the trans slip when test driving after the timing chain work.
Tips welcome.