transmission overheating on hills

Yes.
The OEM cooler, and the ONLY cooler on vehicles without a towing package, is located inside the "cool" radiator tank.

 

My 98 and 04 both have tow packages. There was not an additional cooler. Just the factory rad with the trans oil cooler built in.

 

ok thank you that is what i thought, and the koyo radiator looks higher quality than cheaper ones online, probably worth the extra 60$.

 

ok today i am replacing the radiator , thermostat and hoses, flushing the coolant and replacing the tranny fluid.reconnecting the new internal cooler and then the aftermarket cooler, hopefully this should fix the overheating. praying the cooked fluid hasnt harmed the tranny so far, thanks for all the advice any open to any more about this.

 

Not much left unturned.
Let us know how this works out after all these new parts.
I'm thinking your truck simply wanted some Christmas gifts to wear...

 

What color is the fluid you are draining out? If it is still red and not brown, and doesn't smell burned, your trans is probably okay.
Might have cut some of the life off of the end, but if you're shifting okay now you're probably okay.

 

ended up needing new belts as well as a new timing belt and water pump, not expecting that but i guess i should with 200k on the clock. will report color of fluid after im finished and how all is working out along with the new OME setup i just installed as well. happy new year y'all, thanks again for all the advice

 

It's a lot easier to change out the timing belt and water pump with the rad out the way anyways. You are doing the machanic (hopefully new) a favor.