Guys.....I've figured it out. Shows how knowledgeable I am abot this stuff
I've been misinterpreting dropping into OD at 40 mph as my shift into 4th gear. Completely different. I think I always believed this to be the case, b/c again, my 3rd to 4th upshift is definitely hard to notice sometimes. Learn something new every day
This brings me back to my original issue of the hard 1 to 2 upshift. It's not the TC locking up. I've had someone tell me that it may be a clutch pack issue b/c they had the same issue with the same year/make/model of truck. With that said...I'm good with it unless something starts to noticeably go wrong.
As always.....thanks very much for the help and support.