1999 Mercury Villager Engine stalls when shifting

1999 MERCURY VILLAGER
95,000 MILES • 6 CYL • FWD • AUTOMATIC
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INIVAN
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Several times in the last two months the engine stalls when shifting out of Park. It only does this when the engine is cold. If we allow it to warm a few minutes it will shift ok and we have no trouble when driving. It does not have the problem when a mechanic tries it. One mechanic told us it was probably the transmission. The transmission mechanic suggested pulling the transmission and rebuilding it as it cost a lot to flush it and it might not solve the the problem. Do you know what could cause this problem?
Jan 1, 2008 at 10:34 PM
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2CARPRO JACK
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IS or has the check engine light been on? is the engiene running rough when it stalls?. Might want to look for vacuum leaks , other than that if the light is on have the PCM scanned for codes and get back
Jan 4, 2008 at 6:02 PM
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INIVAN
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No, the check engine light never came on. The engine runs normally. The scan didn't show any codes although the mechanic said codes may show if it was scanned during the problem.

We can keep it running in neutral if we shift from park to neutral very quickly but it stalls immediately when shifting into any gear.
Jan 6, 2008 at 7:50 PM
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2CARPRO JACK
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Sounds like it may be a trans problem like the converter is locked up and stalls the engine.Might want to try to find a shop with the proper equipment to watch the PCM info to see what is happening.
Jan 7, 2008 at 7:10 AM
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INIVAN
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Thanks for the input. It stalls only from a cold start and intermittently. A week or two may go by before it stalls again.
Jan 7, 2008 at 4:43 PM