I have a  88 , And  mine does the same  .....I prefer it that way so it works good for me    , The guy I bought mine from a lil over a year ago works @ a transmission shop , He never told me if he put one in ( Shift kit  )  but  upon W.O.T. it shifts very hard  & some times i even get a  tire chirp . The reason he did say for this was because  2nd is the weakest gear in the  700R4  With 1st & 3rd being the  strongest . He also told me  the stock torque converter has about a 1800 / 2000 stall so the power band comes right on & compliments  the  TPI engine .  I hope this helps you out  .......Happy  Motoring 

 A firm shift is a good shift. Nuff said. 

But really...Corvette transmissions ARE calibrated differently than other vehicle lines. My '85 will knock yer head off at full throttle, as it should. I have done some minor tweaks to the trans, but nothing "special". A firm shift will not hurt anything except your neck, but it might speed up the wear on u-joints if you keep yer foot in it all the time. I say drive it, enjoy it, and don't worry about the firm shifts....they are designed/calibrated to be that way. It's a Corvette...not a Cadillac.(or your father's Oldsmobile...)

On my Suburban, I built the trans(also a 700) specifically to survive towing the Corvettes on a trailer. That thing will bark the tires all the way up to 4th at full throttle, but is just a nice clean shift when driven "normal".

thanks big mike and Joel. i feel much better about the trans. as far as the u joints,  replaced them all. with the factory ones made for corvettes. a little pricey 53.00 a peace.