So got a parts car that actually has turned out to be a descent buy. Same as my 94 TA. Only problem with it is the transmission. Whenever is goes to shift into third its like it jumps into neutral. If you manually drop it to 2nd its fine, of course until you get going too fast. Any ideas?

 

Can't say for certain this is the cause of your problem, but when I lost third in my old 96, the input drum had sheared off the lugs that hold the top snap ring atop the clutch packs.

 

Sounds like transmission rebuild time to me...

Almost every 4L60E failure out there is 3rd, 4th gear- not as strong as 1,2. When my 95 quit it dropped third with practically zero warning, and I was 600+ miles from my destination. Not a good day, but ended up swapping to a T56 because of it.