engine rpm surge. help needed.

[Rapom]

seems i will have to fire up my desktop pc for images. ive been posting from my cell phone. (site not cell friendly) so i drove it about 10 miles. cel flashes 12 the entire drive. get home. IR pointed on top of thermostat housing reads 182F.. i atempted the check the TPS. oh boy.. first off... used a .025feeler.. could not find a 26... hope the .001 doesnt matter much. TIP remove feeler BEFORE opening throttle. took me 30 mins to find it! lol (it fell) ok readings with feeler inserted at idle (and yes i have 7-8mm of cable play) i got a .051.. with feeler removed. it was a .042 or 62 dont remember.. doesnt matter because moving the throttle off idle (and plying jinga with my feeler gauge) the DMM goes to OL. it only reads with throttle closed. anything but closed... even full open is OL. ????? i think i did it correctly? bottom 2 pins. this is telling me the tps is fubar? if so... i have no codes and it seems to run fine besides the 1500-1900 surge. i would think it would not run at all? also to add..when i cold started it before my drive.. idle was at 1500...when i returned. it was at 800... thats odd. also have a bad trans leak at back of pan.. replaced gasket 2 times.. tq'd properly. pan not bent. still leaking. this is another day. what a messy pain. 2x still leaking. convinced it may not be pan... as this second time i coated both sides of the rubber gasket in japanese Rtv. yes i did... this is my one and only "nincompoop" move so far. still leaking... arrrgghhhh... oh forgot to add... its a federal vehicle. has a brand new 4 wire Denso 02 sensor. new exhaust. long tube header with full custom exhaust. cat. resonator. muffler. (cat is not needed but i wanted one for exhaust stinch on trails/sitting in traffic)