'04 Ranger - OD light flashing, slow shift

Our son (in college, several hours away) has an '04 Ranger we bought about 2 1/2 years ago. It has about 150,000 miles on it. He called tonight and said he went to drive away from the curb and one wheel was on ice and the other on gravel. As he accelerated to drive away, the wheel on ice slipped. Shortly after, the O/D light began flashing and would only shift from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd after revved to high rpm. He could put it in 1st and 2nd gear manually okay but light still flashing. For about a year now he has noticed a "choking" when stopped with engine running, almost like the engine might die.

I plan to call and have a transmission place look at it on Monday but am afraid to let him drive it there (or anywhere else).

I have read every forum and post I can find and there seems to be any numbers of potential reasons. I know the torque converter is a possibility but am wondering if the wheel slippage could have anything to do with the O/D light beginning to flash.

I really do not want to be taken to the cleaners from a distance so any suggestions or advice is appreciated!

i would take it to autozone and have them read the transmission codes... and any possible engine codes... they should check them for free... probably a shift solenoid

I had very similiar problems with mine when I first got the truck. After alot of plug and play, figured out it was the rear v.s.s. (vehicle speed sensor). Located on top of your rear-end. Got a replacement for mine at the junk yard for5-7 bucks. Hope this helps!!!

'04 Ranger - OD light flashing

Thanks to both of you for responding! Here is an update...My hubby and I drove 3 hours on Monday to have the truck towed to a transmission shop. The reason for this was, despite everything I read online, his OD light did not reset when the truck was shut off, instead it kept flashing. The owner of the shop read the codes and found the following:

Engine codes (I forgot to mention the CEL has been on for some time and flashing if sitting in idle for more than a minute or two.)
P0302 - Misfire at cylinder 2
P0305 - Misfire at cylinder 5
- Misfire at startup
We have been battling various misfire codes for several years and have replaced injectors, had heads redone, used injector cleaner, changed fule filter, etc., all of which resulted in short term success. As a result the truck chugs if it idles too long and is sometimes low on power from a stop.

Transmission codes
P0730 Incorrect Gear Ratio
P0 Engine RPM or Vehicle Speed Limiter Reached

The shop owner cleared the codes and then drove the truck with the machine attached for nearly an hour and the codes did not reset, nor did the OD light come back on. My son drove it, my hubby drove it and still no codes. The fluid level is good, doesn't look overly dirty given the mileage and smells used but not burnt. When I asked the shop owner what he thought, he said that the light comes on for a reason and transmissions don't fix themselves so he would be very cautious driving it.

Given that we have been unsuccessful in resolving the misfire/low power issue and now are very concerned about the transmission, I believe a trade-in is in our future.

Thread moved to new electrical tech section

I would trade in as well. This truck seems like trouble.