"First things first. Do your back up lights work? Since the OD and back up lights share the same harness underneath, maybe you did get the wires crossed. "

Nope. they havent since i bought hte car years ago. Thought the switch was
the problem, but tested that while tranny was out and it was fine.
OD worked fine prior to removal of tranny.

"If not, you have had one of those wierd coincidences where a part is failing and it shows up just after you have done something else. "

yup, love those coincidences too!

"IF not electrical, your solenoid on the OD has bad seals internally and is becoming locked ON by the fluid being pushed past the seals. After sitting for a few hours it drains out and all acts as normal. "

What is the best way to test the solenoid electrically? Wires grounding on the tranny would cause it to stay engaged yes?
how does the circuit work? is there always voltage to the solenoid?

thanks for the instructions on solenoid disassembly!

take care
luke