Mazda5 Sport/GT TCM Shutdown/Engine power down
 

2013 Mazda 5 Sport (US) I'm wondering if my transmission is acting up due to something mechanical or electrical, as I am unable to get the money up to service it. I'm thinking maybe I should just drop the pan and flush out all the old fluid/shavings, It seemed to run better after I added a conditioning fluid to my ATF, but my transmission fluid is past due and I'm confused on if my malfunctions are based on the slipping of gears or the TCM just failing, as sometimes I experience no slippage but still get an AT occurrence/shutdown while in gear. My car is equipped with sport mode and it doesn't slip between 1st and 5th gear when set to manual, it does tend to jerk a little when automatically regulating the gears and I'm not confident in driving it in manual mode. I know this is a lot to read but as someone who went to mechanic school and fell short of an ASE I'm puzzled on whether it's the trans or the TCM. TCM does give connection failure codes but I'm majorly unsure whether or not that had to do with the previous owner (and myself) not changing the transmission fluid within the correct intervals. Anything helps, I am planning on dropping the pan and replacing the gasket, I also have a CV leak so maybe I would need to replace the CV axle. Every one of these fixes is beyond budget at the moment so like I said, any advice is appreciated.