2001 Volkswagen Beetle Transmission troubles

I'm not sure what speed the auto transmission is, but my girlfriends Beetle will not shift itself properly. When I put it into drive and go, it acts like it is running just one gear lower than it should be. When I take off while it's in the drive position it runs like I have the shifter in the '2" position. Once I get the car to about 45mph's it will shift gears, but only like it is in the '3' position. It just will not shift itself into the normal drive and it runs about 2,000 RPM's over what it should.

Any ideas what could cause this? Of course my first thought was it may be low on fluid, but I couldn't even find anywhere to check the fluid level. I've never known an auto tranny not to have a dipstick to check the fluid, but then again, it is a Volkswagen.

Any information you might have would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
-Chris