[FLA944]

Steve,

If I had your "adventure" I would have given up and make a Guards Red lawn ornament/mailbox.

Will has a good idea! Get a flexible extendable magnet at sears or ace hardware remove the fill plug and search around for "stuff"
I would expect any tranny damage to give you pretty loud clunks not just clicks.

Chock the front wheels and jack up the rear. Rotate a rear wheel and see if you hear light clicking. If you do CV time. They are relatively simple to install and shouldn't need a shop for this.

Definately find a new shop. This dude justs wants to get into the tranny $$$$$$.

Rick