Maxima Forums - Tranny Curiosity

Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions on what was wrong with my old tranny and ways to take care of my new one (lasted 280000k's buy the way) here are the details:
started slipping from 3rd down to 2nd,
weeks later 2nd gear lost its guts to be more specific it would rev out to like 3000rpm then "grip on" and shake the car around in the process,
so i stared to skip 2nd by revving out 1st and wacking it in drive (not a nice thing to do i know but the tranny was stuffed anyways).
Changed the oil and the change to 2nd gear had a more cleaner so to say "grip on" (car didn't shake and trash around anymore),
then 1st started to loose it's guts, i would start of from a full stop and have to rev it out to like 3000-4000rpm for it to start moving,
then third slightly lost its guts (mind u after 1st started going i only drove to the corner store till i saved it to get fixed).
Anyway i got a used tranny with 76000k on it for $1000 aussie dollars (around $750US), and it works fine actualy better than when i bought the car six months earlier (i'm pretty sure its was stuffed from when i bought it)
but i just wanted to know if any other model tranny will go on to a VG (hence the unanswered question on my post "Transmission Compatibility")
because i dont know what the mechanic bolted onto the motor, there could be a gang of rats acting as my tranny for all i know (im not too good with mechanics). anyway i've noticed this lockup clutch when going over 80kph (about 50miles?) which feels like a 5th gear, this never existed on the old one. The best help from u guys would be how to get the most life out of the new one.
So three main questions:
what was wrong with it? (or what caused this chain reaction?)
what tranny have i got now? (any other models)
and the best way to take car of my new one.
Thanks In Advance!
Regards, Jason.
:newbie: