Our Jag is a 1999 XJ8. My husband was driving it on Saturday - stopped at a red light, and when he tried to go, there was a lurch and then the car wouldn't go. (Apparently it went into limp mode.) The check engine and transmission fault lights came on. He says that it seemed a little louder than usual when he was on the highway prior to this. He "limped" the car into a parking lot and says it seemed louder then. Reverse works fine. We had the car towed to our neighborhood repair shop, and then they told us to take it to a nearby transmission shop, which we did (another tow). The place is part of a chain, but our regular shop recommended them highly. Online reviews are mostly good, but not entirely. Both shops pulled the P1722 code.

I've read all the bad transmission threads I could find here, so when I initially talked to the transmission shop guy yesterday, I asked him to please check the various sensors, harnesses, etc. He called me yesterday afternoon and told me that they'd been able to drive the car a little just to see what it was doing, and that he knew that the problem was a bad torque converter. He said that he knew this because he could hear it. I asked if he had checked the sensors, etc. and he said that he had not because this would be a waste of time and money, since he already knew what the problem was. He quoted me a price of $795 to take everything apart, and he said that "this kind of repair usually runs around $2000," (which would include the original $795). I forgot to ask about warranty, which I will do today. But I guess my biggest questions relate to his findings. Do my car's symptoms sound like a bad torque converter? Is this something you can hear, and if so, what does it sound like? Does this necessarily rule out the possibility of a simpler/cheaper fix? Should I pay for another tow and get a second opinion?

Thanks in advance for any input! Oh, and if anyone has a recommendation for a shop in the Atlanta area, let me know that too!