Lots of people have had bad luck with them - except it isn't luck. It's improper setup. They will work fine IF you provide proper cooling, IF you provide proper lockup, and IF you set the TV cable correcly. People having "bad luck" with 700R4s usually miss one of those requirements.

GM put them in Corvettes with more HP than 300. Th 700R4 in my 93 Vette has 126K miles on it, and it works great.