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[carpoor]

John, do you have a transmission cooler on it? Also, 400's have siamesed bores with steam holes. They don't have the exact same cooling passages as the rest of the early SBC engine family. They tend to run a little warmer. Also, things like DCR, cam overlap, etc - will affect engine temps. Hell, even the size of the exhaust system will somewhat dictate how warm an engine runs.

Based on what you've told me, I would load the converter a little bit at the line. On the third yellow, pop the brake and let it roll forward, then roll the throttle to the floor. (DON'T JUST MASH IT UNLESS YOU WANT TO DO A STARTING LINE BURNOUT) See where it shifts just leaving it in D. If it shifts low and falls on it's face, experiment shifting at different RPMs.