Finally, i have an update.
Major delays were had by me herniating two disks in my lower back and dealing with the associated PT for recovery before i could get back under the 4R.
The day i was going to pull the trigger on a 1999 CA Spec trans from a good shop on Car-part, i checked CL one last time and someone just posted their 1999 4R Ltd that hit a barrier and totaled the exterior. So for about $200 more than i was going to get just the CA Spec for, i got an entire 4R... with un-ripped leather seats, other odds and ends, and most importantly, a working trans with clean fluid and 4.30's with e-locker! (mine has 4.10's, no locker) However, this was a Fed Spec. But, for the price, and with all of your comments, I figured I'd give it a shot.
My friends and I did the swap slowly over the last two months, and after some minor struggles (i.e. us being amateurs), the 4R moves under it's own power!
With the long delay between when we pulled the new one, and swapped it in, i think i may have gotten my dipsticks confused (haha.) Can anyone with an original CA or Fed do me a huge favor and take a pic of their trans tube mounting bolt location and their dipstick out of the tube? The two upper tubes and dipsticks are different, and of course, give different readings.
