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Here's the rundown....
AMC150ci I4 w/4-speed - AX-4
AMC150ci I4 w/5-speed - AX-5
AMC242ci I6 w/5-speed - AX-15
AMC150ci I4 w/3-speed auto - 30RH or 32RH
AMC150ci I4 w/4-speed auto - AW4
AMC242ci I4 w/4-speed auto - AW4
Now, if we're talking about the AW4 here (I'm going to presume we are, until you tell me elsewise...) then...
The OEM (and most replacement) gaskets are cork, which work just fine.
The OEM "filter" is really a strainer - and so are most replacements. I usually end up pulling the pan the first time I change the fluid (clean the screen and magnet in the pan) for checking - elsewise, I just pull the plug, drain, and refill (four quarts Dexron II/III - the AW4 seems to prefer non-synthetic fluid.)
The AW4 seems to be the "pump shotgun" of light-duty slushboxes - it thrives on abuse. I don't run anything but regular DexII/III in mine, and I'd be mildly ashamed to tell you what I've put some of these boxes through... As long as you keep it fairly cool and don't run burnt fluid, you should be fine.
I've also gotten mixed reports from the field on the utility of the "power flush" - some say it's worked better, while slightly more have suddenly developed transmission problems. I'll just put in a can of B-12 Chemtool a week before I plan to change the fluid, drain it hot, and refill. Seems to serve rather well, I think.
I'd consider it a bad idea to reuse gaskets - I just redid my oil sump after I'd buttoned it up a week before (one thing lead to another, and I missed a few wrinkles in the sump pan rail from the previous owner...) and, even though I used the 96-up moulded rubber gasket and it hadn't even been heated up yet, I replaced it. The one I took out looked just fine - but why chance it? A new gasket is cheap insurance.
One thing I find handy when dealing with undercar pans & gaskets (oil sump, transmission sump, ...) is to install about four studs in selected locations. For the AW4 pan, you'll want M6-1.0x20 to 30m/m studs and nuts. Install four - one near each corner, and you'll save a lot of wrestling. Put the gasket on the studs, put the pan on the gasket and studs. You can then hold the pan up with one hand while you start the nuts with the other (DO NOT TIGHTEN!) and then you can get the bolts started all the way around (replacements are, I believe, going to be M6-1.0x15m/m, if you lose any.)
Do not tighten even one bolt until they are ALL started!
I don't recall the torque spec for those bolts offhand - I'm thinking it's down around 5-8 pound-feet. I've got most torque charts done with data taken from FSMs - you can check the "Tech Archive" on my website (link in sig) to be sure. These things didn't change overmuch WRT the drivetrain - so getting a chart within a year or two of what you've got should do neatly. I still need to get a few FSMs, and I still need to code information from a few that I have - but it will point you in the right direction.
Mixed reports on the use of RTV/silicone with the gasket - I usually will, but I leave it in a little longer than most. As long as you get the pan edge and mounting rails clean, you can get the gasket to seal on its own. I do , not, however, suggest using RTV alone on any "maintenance seal" (transmission sump, axle covers, &c.) because it will squidge out and give you that much less room when you need to pull the thing off again!
I haven't dealt with Trick Shift fluid in years - and that was in PowerGlides, THM350/400, and C6 boxes I'd built into street rods and bracket racers. It was good stuff for those, but the AW4 seems to be a little bit pickier about fluid, and I don't have a rig to spare to test the stuff in - so I don't know. No advice for you there. However, since they differentiate between TS Synthetic and regular TS, and since TS has been around for donkey's years, I'm reasonably certain that regular TS fluid has a "dino" oil base.
5-90
