Had my 1997 max fixed when it would perpetually crank and not start, also had the car checked for battery drain. Was told the transaxle bell housing mating surface was cleaned and that there was no drain on the battery. Car worked after that, turned at every start (and still does), for about 300 miles. Then found that the car sometimes did not shift out of first on acceleration, temp solution was to pull over turn car off turn on and drive again. No other problem except that if not used daily the battery would be drained and a jump would be needed. The following check engine codes came up: 0504, 1102, 1106, 0304 as follows:
Knock Sensor
4th gear signal / Torque Converter Clutch (AT)
Vehicle Speed Sensor (AT)
A/T Control Unit
and just to add insult the car is located at my parents house 100 miles away (upstate ny between Albany and nyc), away from any good mechanic or my tools. any advice toward the cause would be greatly appreciated.

adding additional problems here in case they are somehow related (and to remind myself what needs to be fixed):
-found there was a parasitic drain of 500 milliamps (all fuses pulled with no source found)
-oil found on alternator (new valve covers added 3-4 months ago) unsure if this happened before during or after repair.
-engine bay temp sensor shows 1/2 the normal temp during prolonged driving
-car heater barely produces heat
-radiator needs replacement as it looks bad internally
-bouncing tach
-bose radio volume **** doesnt work

 

Replace the speed sensor.
Engine bay temp?? You mean intake air temp sensor? How are you watching it? It should correspond to ambient air temp.
Is the engine temp up where it should be? If not, you may need a thermostat.
Bouncing tach could be poor connections on the gauge cluster.
There's a fix for the bose volume ****, most just replace the sound system.

 

sorry meant temperature gauge on dash.

should have included my solution plan:
1st I believe the speed sensor needs changing
2 cooling system probably needs to be bled as heater isn't producing heat, might try changing the engine coolant temperature sensor and gauge sensor as in this will assess doing radiator replacement at the same time based on cost benefit
3 plan on solder fixing bouncing tach and volume k n o b

new parasitic drain is worrisome as I don't know why any of the above would cause it.
The biggest problem is I need to bring parts and tools upstate to fix it and forgetting one thing will mean a wasted trip. so I've been trying to figure out what would cause trouble shifting from first to second and also cause a battery drain. also been trying to figure out how much stuff to fix upstate and how best to test the car after since there's absolutely nothing in terms of aaa, a decent knowledgeable mechanic, or a parts store.
Im a resident physician at a long island hospital and basically have maybe one golden (free) weekend a month where id be able to work on the car.