2000 glx 1.8 turbo, auto - transmission problems! HELP!

[ReneeLynn]

Ok, so I am a new VW beetle owner & I really do love my new car, but lately I am having some issues with it. I am not really a car-type girl, so bear with me as I try to explain what's happening.

The car shifts really hard, throwing me back into my seat. It also makes a loud clunking noise when it does this, and sometimes my tires screach when I go to leave from a light or a stop sign, even if I am just easing on the gas pedal. It jerks me and my passengers all over the place! Sometimes it will also act as though it's in neutral, when I am in drive. I will go to drive from a stop sign and the car won't move but it will rev really high and then all the sudden slam into gear and go. It slips constantly. It seems to subside a bit when I have been driving the car all day and it's hot, but it's the WORST when it has been sitting for a few days and I haven't driven it.

I called two different VW dealers in my area to try to schedule service work only to have neither of them call me back. I do have a friend who is a mechanic but he services GM, so I don't want to take it to him. Everyone says to stick with a VW mechanic. This has been happening for about a month now, and seems to be getting worse. I bought this car used without a warranty (stupid, I know.) but I was looking for this EXACT car for months. (ALSO - I got a carfax report with it and this car was maintained at a VW dealer perfectly! The car, for being ten years old, had 80k miles on it & it was in near perfect condition looks-wise, inside & out. This was not a junker.) When I finally found her, I was so happy I just snatched her right up because people were actually in line behind me to buy it. Also, I don't believe this was an issue with the previous owner because it happened about a month after purchasing it. It happens so frequently, there is no way it was happening before I bought it. Also, it was stalling basically right off the lot. It doesn't do it anymore, but for about 2 weeks after I bought the car, it would stall at low rpm's or idle and then I'd have to restart it but it would start right back up no problem. Don't know what that was.

Anyway, I am sorry I am so long-winded I just don't know what to do. Do I need a new transmission? Or would something less expensive help me out? I'm at the end of my rope here, as when I went out to go to work this morning, the car wouldn't start. That's a battery I am pretty sure, but after a few months of this, I am starting to wonder if I got a lemon...