Wat u do to get a sample of the tranny fluid is simply by taking out the dipstick of the tranny....or u can unplug the nut thats near the wheelwell and open it really slowly and u will get a sample of the fluid........i never had your problem before, but i could tell u one thing...usually when there is something wrong with an auto. tranny, its usually the fluid that destroys the tranny, cause its too low or never changed. If its dark red, or brown, leave the fluid in there......like my accord, it was brown, had a burnt smell, and water too....so i changed it, then it started to slip cause the tranny relied on the debris that in the fluid for gripping....its kinda like it created its own glue with the use of its own trash.

U say it wont shift up when it hits 40mph? well for most auto tranny, that is the stage when the tranny fluid flows out of the torque converter....ummm so im not sure exactly wat the problem is. If u bring it to a mechanic, they are gonna tell u that they arent sure wat the problem is, wat the have to do is take out the engine and tranny, and find out exactly wats wrong with it. And yes they are gonna charge u money for that.......So if i was u...i would do a complete motorswap.....im for real.
BTW....if ure looking for a torque converter for your car...i got a spare torque converter that i bought for my accord about a year ago....its a rebuilt and been collecting dust.....Price $120.00 obo