Checks before warranty expires

[Crowhurst]

My truck's standard engine/drive train 5yr/100,000 mile warranty runs out in January (90 k at present). As a newbie to these great trucks, auto trans, and indeed, this nation, I wonder if I should check some things before the warranty expires. The truck runs well, and uses little oil. What made me think of this is that the last two mornings, at about 30 degrees here in Maryland, the truck was reluctant when stone cold to reverse up my son's driveway, about a 15% slope. If it was manual transmission, I would expect this to be a problem, and the engine would stall. With my auto trans, the engine revs, but the truck is reluctant to back up the slope. After a few minutes, when the truck has warmed up, the reversing up hill is no problem. Is this a normal behaviour of an auto trans, or is it the beginning of defective torque converter slippage? If the latter, is that covered under warranty? Should I carry out the converter stall test at page 21-219 in the service manual? This made me wonder if there are any other things I should check before the warranty expires. Thanks guys. Nick.