727 sticking in 2nd gear

[303 Mopar]

Hey guys,
My 727 is staying in 2nd gear until 55 mph, whether its WOT or not.  Then from 3rd as I slow down it down shifts pretty hard.  1st is still fine.  I recently made a slight bend in the throttle rod because it was hitting the firewall at WOT.  Would this effect the shift timing?  How can I adjust the shift point?

[b5blue]

Kick down lever can be off. 

[303 Mopar]

Kick down lever can be off. 

The lever on the trans?

[flyinlow]

Bend it back.    Was it working normally before?  One piece or multi piece kick down linkage?

You may have disturbed the kick down (throttle pressure) adjustment. If it is late on the 2-3 shift ,I would think the 1-2 shift would be affected also.  

Basically the carb throttle pin and the throttle pressure arm on the trans should start to move together off idle and hit the Wide open throttle at the same  time.

The arm has a slot in it in case the trans. throttle pressure arm or linkage jams, the carb can still return to idle. A small spring keeps the end of the slot of the kick down linkage against the carb pin.

A service manual has the narrative and diagrams.

The kick down linkage should be able to be pushed reward and then return to idle on its own.

Disconnect the kick down linkage and drive the car. It should up shift at low speeds.