Hey guys new to this site and just getting into cars...I bought a 1977 Cadillac sedan deville a few months ago. I've had a few problems with the car and basically need ideas what could be wrong with it and if I can do this with a friend or I should take it to a shop.

the car had a bad water pump, a stuck thermostat and a fuel leak where the fuel line enters the carb... I was driving it home and the engine bay caught on fire...Thankfully outside of hoses everything seemed to be okay... I fixed the water pump and thermostat with a friend, but were having a hard time figuring out where a few of the hoses went, so I asked an older guy that said he could help me out... we got it running again but he stuck a bolt in the end of a hose coming from the back of the intake manifold and the used a hollow tube that fit into two pieces of hose that burnt through. (to connect them) it goes from one of the hoses from the distributer. I question what he did but can't seem to find any good pics or schematics to find out for sure... I took him home that night and let him drive it, he drove it like he stole it and after dropping him off my transmission started to act funny. transmission seemed to slip alot and at times wouldn't even go into gear. I checked transmission fluid and it was low so I added until it was within lines. The transmission still seemed to slip but felt like it was firming up after trying to get it into gear for a bit. I had a battery problem and just got a new one today, fired her up, but she's not going into gear at all, further more she seems to have a whine coming from the transmission...

I could really use some ideas about what it could be, so I can better plan on what I need to do... torque converter? valve body? transmission bands? could it be related to the engine or hoses? will it be cheaper to just buy a used tranny or get it fixed at a shop, or something I might be able to do with basic tools?