Well the remanufactured transmission has been ordered. The fellow at the shop told me there was metal in the transmission pan. Additionally, he told me the "transmission filer was clogged". He said BMW recommends to change the transmission fluid and filer at 100k and if I had come in and asked about a trans service he would not have recommended I get one. I asked him when would I have had to have done a trans service to not have the clogged filter. (I am not exactly sure what the filer is but I gather it is internal in the transmission) His response was 25,000 - 30,000 miles. I will do a trans service at 90,000.

FYI, the service center is European Auto Service in Fort Lauderdale ( EuropeanAutoService.net )