Wasn't 4 planetary gear sets and an extra clutch a couple of the added items to the HD transmissions?
I worked at a Dodge dealer for 24 years and did auto trans work. I worked on some police cars and did trans work on them. Most were 318 and 360 cars and I don't remember any shifting real hard. Some may have shifted a tad harder but nothing that was very much. I do remember they had special locking clips on the trans linkage so nothing could fall out real easy. They took a little longer to remove the trans because the locking clips took more time to get off. I also remember they all had special coolant hoses as the rad and heater hoses were all blue a high heat type. But I really don't remember any shifting much harder that was very noticeable. Your car may have to high of throttle pressure so I would make sure its working right and it may even have the throttle pressure turned up some if its ever been worked on. Does it shift hard into all gears or just second gear ? Ron
I'm not a Mopar mechanic, just back yard guy, but have had many, many 727's from many years & applications. There are many different combinations of internal parts that 727's have, guess I never noticed the locking clips on linkage, never took a complete one out of a police car only used them as cores. I have taken apart many dozen 727's & know the internal parts vary a lot. That does affect shift quality.