Ford Windstar- possible tranny problem

Hy guys, I tried asking a question some time ago and unfortionatly didnt get any response.I hope I have better luck this time. Anyway, what I have is a 1996 windstar, 3.8 liter with 122.000 kms. The truck broke down on me going through the hills of tennessee, running perfect until the hills came along. The first sign of trouble was lack of power going up hills, it felt like going from one gear to another. Then I noticed the oil light on. Oil was ok and oil pump was ok, in the end it cost me $600.00 for a small gear at the end of what I thought was the distributer shaft. I was sent on my way and told good luck making it back to toronto canada. Well that was one month ago and I did make it home, but now im starting to fell the same kind of thing I felt just before the break down in tennessee. Could the tranny be causing my engine problems, any ideas would help