97 Jetta transmission stuck in second gear!

I tried to get a response to you last night, but I was mobile, and I couldnt submit my entry from my smartphone after I typed the whole response! :evil:
Anyway, Are you sure its second gear? I think what you are experiencing is called "limp mode". Your TCM is detecting a malfunction somewhere and its telling your ECM to go into limp mode, where your car stays in 3rd gear, giving you the ability to get home or to a shop instead of just not moving at all. I would advise you take it to your local Auto-Zone or autoparts store, they can read the CEL Codes using an OBD-II scan tool, or if you have about 60 bucks roughly to spend, you could buy one from wal-mart, or any Automotive store. Wal-mart has them for about 60 bucks, and its a wise investment. It allows you to read the codes, and even clear the CEL light, which will kick your car out of limp mode. But be careful when doing so, if you ignore the problem and keep using the scan tool to clear the codes, you may be causing more damage! It could be cause by several things, ranging anywhere from your MAF Sensor, O2 Sensors, Fuel system, to your Tranny's Valve body, or even the solenoids on the Valve Body. It just all depends. When you get your codes read, post them here and Ill help you further! Hope this helps!

I ran into a similar situation last week, while coming home from work on the freeway everything was fine then suddenly the car just shifted into lower gear and then went back, this happened couple of times at freeway speed. After that it just shifted into lower gear and stayed there, from what I can tell it is stuck in 2nd gear, did not help with stop and go.
I have a 2003 Jetta GL with AUtomatic