need everyones opinion on bad trans shop

Only $250 lost? Most tranny shops take customers for $2000 without doing much useful. No excuse for not opening the valve body, knowing the metal shavings problem. Easy to find info on where the balls should go, or just take photos.

I went to a CA Cottman for a free inspection after my 727 still showed "morning sickness" after a rebuild at a GA Cottman shop just before I moved. They tossed a piece of broken cork gasket in the pan to show me the "clutches were failing". I left quick and reported them. They had ~40 cars sitting outside, probably hostages they suckered.

Learn to do it yourself. Pretty straightforward with the shop manual. I rebuilt a 413 and 604 this year. The 413 is the FWD version of the 904. I bought it used cheap and it lasted 3 years. It had a "Certified Transmission" label. I found they had put two thin steel plates in place of one thicker one to add space, meaning they must have put it together with worn clutch plates, just enough to last thru the __ month warranty. They left off the output nut retainers, which is probably why they loosened and destroyed a bearing. Someone paid big bucks for a crap job. The 604 was even easier (no bands). Just need a few special tools like snap-ring pliers.