Good point, I should have explained that... the trans had an issue with the cooler in the radiator that resulted in a strawberry milkshake in the trans and the radiator... when I flushed and drained everything, I found a lot of crunchy bits and I just don't know if I got it all - or can get it all out of the converter. With over 110k miles on the car, it seemed like going new would be a good investment for a fresh transmission.

That said, I don't want to throw money away, so feel free to educate me on converter life expectancy and cleaning options for otherwise functional parts.