Just dumped all my tranny fluid!

Was able to thread the TC bolts all the way down almost by hand. It went together much easier than expected. I've had to fight Fords and Chevys before. And, like I mentioned before, it's been running smoothly since then until Friday. Been reading on the TPL adjustment procedure and I know my kickdown has never worked so that's been out of whack. Could that be another contributing factor? Thanks for all your advice and input!

Thats what is important!

It does seem off that you have driven 100+ miles a day since October before this happened. If your throtle pressure has been out of whack due to kickdown linkage adjustment then Shift issues are understandable (And even clutch and band wear) but not failure of the front pump bushing (IMO). Maybe more here than a few posts uncover.