Bronco II might be telling me it's time to retire

Figured I would post and ask for opinions:

1989 Bronco II. RWD and pretty much bone stock. Auto (a4ld)

Driving to Syracuse yesterday and it did pretty well untilllllllll

Accelerating to 65 the truck had a noticeable power loss for a split second. Felt like the engine cut off and rapidly kicked 'on'. Decided to abort my visit and returned it back home. That's when things got interesting.

When the truck hits the magic 45mph the TCC should kick on. It does and then it kicks off suddenly. That one is easy to tell, as the tach will drop about 500-600 rpm once the TCC engages. If I take it up to 60+ the TCC stays engaged with random power drops--not enough to reflect on the tach, but it's noticeable.

The only recent work done was the day before. Had to replace the speedometer cable again. Had more jumps then a sugared up kid on a pogo stick. I then noticed that the one napa sold me a couple years ago was 1/2" longer in cable length then the replacement. That explains why the speedo' always had issues. Replaced it and it settled down.

The speed sensor is new, replaced that last month when the plastic gear ate itself again. At first I figured the sensor could be going bad and sending the ECU a bad signal causing the TCC to drop--but the cruse control worked fine all the way home--with the exception of the power drops at random times it held the speed fine.

Fluid in the transmission is pink and perfect. No signs of burning or smells. Wish they could design a better dipstick, as reading that thing sucks. One time it looked 2" to high....next it was in the hash marks...really annoying. But it seems to be fine and not low.

Any suggestions at this point would be great. If it's the auto giving out again? I'm afraid the old girl is done--as there are no a4ld's within a 300 mile radius with a reasonable cost. Pick and Pull might have one--but that's very risky as most have been beat to heck by the flippers pulling parts to sell on ebay.

Thanks

S-

Minor update:

Fortune smiled. Gave this some thought at work today. Figured last thing I messed with was the speedo cable. And sense the TCC lockup was all over the place on the way home, and with all the surging for the trucks speed.... Maybe the sensor was bad? It is made by BWD--and their quality control is normally in the toilet.

So I get under the truck and get ready to swap out the sensor for the old one. (I saved it...) I go to remove the connector and one of the wires comes out in my hand. It was only held on by a couple of strands and while a wire is supposed to have some 'flex'..this is rock hard--the green goobersnots look to have gotten into the insulation.

I have a new connector coming in via napa tomorrow. Looks like that is the likely cause of the problems--I hope..

S-

Those damn gremlins again! Sometimes they sneak in under the hood with a big smiley grin on their face and are unheard. Then again they come crashing in making all sorts of loud laughing noises. Ya never know when or where they will strike next.
Good luck with the new part.
Big Jim

Sounds like you likely found the problem.