Slipping out of second is a traditional issue, I am told, especially when going downhill without acceleration. Before our tranny rebuild I learnt to keep yer' hand pressing forward on the shifter when in second.
Love the robe cord, we put one into the Phaeton. For a while I had a blanket with a Ford logo hanging there that I got from KenCT at the Auburn CNM 2012. (Ken treated me well and let me keep almost all my limbs.
I think I did him a favor because he said he'd hauled that blanket ten thousand miles around the country before I got my wallet out.)
Did the fuel sender work out okay? I've had to fiddle with ours (and the gauge) quite a bit. Was working fine for a year then it developed a leak in the float so it read empty all the time. It was replaced with a float from a new gauge, refitted into our old sender.
-VT/Jeff