96 Taurus dies when put in gear?

New problem with my daughters 1996 Taurus with automatic transmission...

My wife drove the Taurus yesterday and it was running beautifully. I got in
the car today to head to town and it started right up as always. But as
soon as I put it in gear (reverse) it died. No stuttering, or noises, or
anything, just like the key was turned off, except all the dash lights were
still on. It's a little harder to start again (like it's flooded or
something), but starts right back up and idles smoothly (around 1000 rpm).

I tried to move the car 5 or 6 times and it died every time. I finally gave
up and took my own car to town.

When I got back home I tried the Taurus again. It started fine, but died as
soon as I put it in gear. After a couple more tries, it finally stayed
running when I put it in gear. It acted like it was going to die again, but
recovered at the last second. I backed it into the area where we normally
park it and shut it off. However, when I restarted the car and tried
putting it in gear again, it continued to die each time.

We've had temps in the upper 20's the last few days. The battery is brand
new and cranks the car fine. No problems there. When it runs, it runs very
nice. We've had the Taurus a little over a year now, and have never had a
problem with it stalling like this.

Any ideas? Simple things to look for first?

Thanks,

Anthony

HerHusband wrote:
> New problem with my daughters 1996 Taurus with automatic transmission...
>
> My wife drove the Taurus yesterday and it was running beautifully. I got in
> the car today to head to town and it started right up as always. But as
> soon as I put it in gear (reverse) it died. No stuttering, or noises, or
> anything, just like the key was turned off, except all the dash lights were
> still on. It's a little harder to start again (like it's flooded or
> something), but starts right back up and idles smoothly (around 1000 rpm).
>
> I tried to move the car 5 or 6 times and it died every time. I finally gave
> up and took my own car to town.
>
> When I got back home I tried the Taurus again. It started fine, but died as
> soon as I put it in gear. After a couple more tries, it finally stayed
> running when I put it in gear. It acted like it was going to die again, but
> recovered at the last second. I backed it into the area where we normally
> park it and shut it off. However, when I restarted the car and tried
> putting it in gear again, it continued to die each time.
>
> We've had temps in the upper 20's the last few days. The battery is brand
> new and cranks the car fine. No problems there. When it runs, it runs very
> nice. We've had the Taurus a little over a year now, and have never had a
> problem with it stalling like this.
>
> Any ideas? Simple things to look for first?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Anthony
I just wonder if you have an electronically controlled lockup type
torque converter that is on the fritz. My son had a similar problem
with an older Pontiac. They had to replace whatever controlled it --
cost about $200. Symptoms were that if you could get going to a
reasonable speed, the car would run fine. But, if you tried to start
from a dead stop, well, the transmission acted like it was locked up.