had top end rebuilt on 88 626.drove it home with hold light flashing.was not and shifted properly before rebuild.any ideas?

So, when the hold light was flashing was the transmission shifting normally or was it stuck in a particular gear? Does this problem occur all the time? After the light begins to flash, have you tried stopping, turning off the engine, and restarting the engine? Does the light immediately come back on? How about resetting by disconnecting the battery cable? (Disconnect the battery for a minute, then reconnect). Still flashing?

Take it to the dealer and have them read the transmission fault code. Tops, 1/2 hour's labour and you'll know exactly what the problem is. First, though, reset the computer as described by the other poster, in case the work you had done tripped something.

Has this problem been fixed? Had the same problem on a 1991 626 diesel Capella after we did some work on the injector pump! The throttle position sensor had to be adjusted, did it myself through trial and error, a bit sensitive but perfect now!

Had the same problem in a 92 Protege after I changed the fuel filter. I forgot to reconnect 2 plugs on the backside/top of the engine. It ran great and shifted like normal, but the HOLD light flashed like you said. Since you had surgery on the top end, check that.