Possibly something like "TRANS PROGRAM SEE OWNERS MANUAL" would have come up on the onboard computer display, but no idiot lights. Your buddy's code reader might be a help, as not all errors display on the OBC (there is a technique to get the codes by depressing the accelerator a certain number of times on OBD I cars, but it's never worked for me). The solenoid is a logical, and rather simple, next step. I getting beyond my knowledge to contribute anything more that might be useful, so good luck, hope it's a quick and simple fix.