I just purchased my first power stroke and would like to know is it normal for the tranny to seem to take a long time to shift from second to third. as I had a chevy before and it was a very quick shift. any information would be appreciated.

I would say it is normal because mine does the same from secend to thrid.

check your build date some 98 models had a pcm reflash done to solve this problem, on 4R100 trans. give jasper trans tech support a call they can give you the number, just had it done on a reman we installed per jasper.