I have an 09 Ford ranger the RPMs shoot up to almost 2000 RPMs when I first started and takes about a minute for settle down to 1200. reverse only works on level ground and when I first started but if I’ve been driving for a while it won’t work unless a race up the RPMs. it shifts hard when I first put in drive as well as from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd it won’t go in 4th and I can’t get the truck to drive more than 40 MPH. when I try it it shoots up the RPMs to 4 or 5000 and loses power and won’t go any faster then 40mph. Can anyone help me figure it out so I can fix it?

 

Since you did not tell us, did anyone check the fluid level in the trans?

 

Does sound like a transmission low on fluid. A pan drop and filter change would be worth a try. Maybe the debris on the pan's bottom can shed some light. Otherwise the slipping which is occuring likely is telling the need for an overhaul.