Kickdown or no Kickdown

Memike would be correct. The kickdown lever is NECESSARY to apply oil pressure to the valve body. Without it, no shift, wide open still won't shift till you reach that pressure. Finding that sweet spot is a PITA !! To hell with the kickdown, go Manual shift body and have some fun ! I did it with all my 6 cylinders and loved it !! Just be sure to SHIFT UNDER LOAD !