Aw-4 question got me stumped

just got back from florida with my 400 dollar xj that i bought sight unseen on ebay. the engine is in great shape (4.0 HO runs better than my 98) the ad said that the trans was shot, so as i was unloading it off my trailer i revved it in reverse then all of a sudden it grabbed and drove normal. Hmm low fluid i thought, turns out it was nearly dry, once i had it filled it runs perfect! The tire marks in my lot can attest to that. The only problem is that i know the guy who sold it to me isn't stupid and i tried to find out where it was evacuating fluid from. turns out there is a slow drip from the VERY front where the shield is to access the TC. I don't have much experience with autos but what does this indicate, my instinct leads to the tc or maybe a front seal? when the fluid was REALLY low the tc also made a clicking noise but that has stopped. and how much am i looking at to get this fixed? sorry for the long post and any info is appreciated. Another bit of info is that the guy's roommate he was gonna miss the "first jeep they sunk" so it has water in its past somewhere

specs: 92 xj laredo
4.o HO
np231 t-case
aw4

First thing I'd do is tighten the torque converter bolts. If they are loose the wobble could be causing the front seal to pass a little fluid.
Then spray out the inside of the bell housing with a grease cutter and power washer. Leave the cover off and see what color the oil is that collects in the bottom of the bell housing (there is a little ridge that holds a couple of spoon fulls of oil in the bottom of the bell housing). Keep an eye on the tranny fluid level and look under the XJ often.
Check the tranny cooler lines in the front and at the tranny for seepage after you get things cleaned up some.
I partially submerge mine a couple of times a year. I have a system for cleaning things out, that works for me. The first couple of times it was really time consuming, but it gets easier with practice. I'm a big advocate of grease.

thanks for the direction, i'll give it a try.

If it really is just the seal, the factory manual shows it as a pretty straightforward job. Of course you have to take the tranny out, and take the torque converter off, but then it's just pry out the old seal and press in the new one. I'm guessing that a good tranny shop could do this pretty easily even if you're hesitant to tackle it. But I'd certainly try other remedies first, tightening the TC, and seeing how bad the leak is after that.