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Is it possible that the rear clutch is slipping enough to make it seem like 2nd gear?



No , the rear clutch is applied in ALL forward gears , if the rear clutch slips you have NEUTRAL.

I can't explain why it appears to be starting in second as the the front band has to be applied for it to be in second.

Did you last VB or this current one have low band apply ? If not then the sprag is toast .

What bolt in sprag did you have installed , the generic case repair kind or the A+A or Coan types ? if the generic type it does nothing to stop the sprag rollers from failing , all it dies it keep the race from spinning in the case.