[whoa]

thanks all for the replies. I took it in to the dealer and they kept the car until they were able to duplicate the problem (make the transmission slip) then they made an appointment and took it in again yesterday morning. They just called me to tell me they're going to be replacing the tranny, and the extended warranty covers all of it (including car rental) except for $100 deductible. This makes me a super happy camper. This particular dealership, while the sales department has been a bit of a pain, their service dept, has been nothing short of awesome. they've done work on it before and they've always been very professional and I can tell they know what they're doing. Whatever we paid for the extended warranty, it looks like it just paid for itself WOHOO!.

Wow, a nine year old vehicle and a free transmission replacement. This is an ideal scenario where the extended warranty and regular servicing at the dealer finally pays off. Congrats.