A-727 small metal debris in pan - rebuild?

Hey TrailBeast,
It's interesting to hear that the rod may be from a shift kit, thank you for sharing your experience. I'm looking carefully at all of the components in the VB and comparing to the book. I appreciate what you say about using a fresh VB, I've read accounts of spending much time diagnosing and never managing to sort it out.
If I needed to, is there a particular era and type of original VB or a decent aftermarket VB?