I also hope all is well. Some invaluable info posted for M62 e53ers.
I had a thought though on the trans failsafe prog error you were getting stunt... as I am getting the same error from time to time. In my case it is from low voltage (as Phil had mentioned)... due to oil leaking all over the damn alternator. I have to degrease my alternator/engine once a month to keep my alternator "alternating" lol. It can help to keep a trickle charger on the battery as when my alternator acts up it tends to not give over 12.5v for at least 5 minutes. Then it will suddenly kick in (I guess the oil is warmed up or cleaned off a vital component of the alt, maybe the regulator) and provide 14+v.
Once it "kicks in" the alternator is good for the whole day usually, but I have a sneaking suspicion that if I never degreased it and the engine... it would kill the alternator in a hurry and I'd be in more of a situation that you were in. IE: getting the error more frequently... cold, hot, etc. I now travel around with a multi meter in the car just to check the health of the alternator... sad but true.
After reading your thread (all 45 pages now), I am tempted to pull the N62 in mine to do all the maintenance that I had planned to do to it while in the car. Seems like it might be worth it to pull it... not that it makes me look forward to the jobs.
