WTF 727 troubles--EDIT may be fixed

You won't get a blue could from a transmission as it is a sealed unit. Make sure you're pulling the correct dipstick.

By blue I meant leaking from the trans and blowing onto the hot exhaust. Jeez I've been around long enough to know one dipstick from another.

But to humor you, the "thing up front" is above the add mark and is dark brown. The doo-dad by the firewall is red, pink, after I added fluid. It's the one you burn the f*** out of your fingers by the headers.

The bottom of the car is showing "the usual drips." It was parked two days after I brought it home last, a few drips on the ground, certainly not enough to dry the dipstick.

I've got a project going, so can't get it on the hoist for a bit. The thing that's weird is that even though (it must have been) low on fluid, it was shifting OK when I brought it home

First thing I checked was antifreeze and dipstick color. Both look OK.