AW4 shifting

ok so i been having engine harness related issues over 5 years. 3 harnesses hacked chopped and etc and then i find at the U Pull yard an 89 with the one piece harness. snatched it up for 13 dollars. engine runs better than ever. had transmission problems so i tossed it and used my spare. before no kickdown available. now with trans fuse in i get kickdown but i only have first gear. pull fuse and i get 1-2-3 (pretty sure) but have to manually shift it. shifts are good no slips no long shifting to mushy feeling. with fuse in it jumps down for kickdown to get going but when time to shift it does not shift. pull fuse it works fine in manual mode. and when fuse in isnt it supposed to be 2-3-4 ? i could never get it in 1st for low range 4x4. with fuse out it is awesome off road. i get first gear as long as i want it.
so is the NSS the issue? or solenoids? it has other things in the trans shift linkage but i want to get it to work from D first. right now i must shift manually 1-2-3
and it will engine brake in all 3 gears. and all 3 gears in low range.

So with the fuse it, it just stays in 1st gear? I'd check that you have the speeds sensor at the back of the transmission (not the one in the xfer case) connected. If that's good, I would check the resistance of the shift solenoids.

speed sensor is connected. but it could be in need of replacement.

ever completed Tips 1 and 10 at www.cruiser54.com?

i have done everything but dash ground as far as wire ground cleaning and inspection. this jeep had tons of neglect and now after 20 tries i got it thru emissions test last October. i expect my shifting is likely the transmission sensors or it's wiring. and solenoids after 30 years? yeah prolly should plan to do those to. the shifts are good and firm no slop no slipping. just have 1st? when fuse in and in D . i need to be using D and stop manual shifting it.

TCU could be bad?

You can test the speed sensor with a meter. It's a magnetic switch that closes once per revolution. With the key-on, you should see 12-volts switching on/off as the output shaft is rotated. Or unplugged, switching between open and shorted.

Two ways to rotate the output shaft, (1) Xfer case in neutral and trans in first gear. That'll spin much faster or it'll probably freewheel enough with the trans in neutral as well. or (2) Chock the front wheels, jack a rear wheel up, trans in neutral and rotate the tire.

Checked for a blown fuse for the TCU? It's in the wiring harness near the trans computer.
http://cruiser54.com/?p=58

yes and thanks changed out tcu and no change