About a year ago I read @colinc755's suggestions about servicing the 8F35 transmission fluid. At that time, with 65,000 miles on the vehicle, I had our local Ford service department drain and fill the transmission. (I do not believe it had been done prior to this.) This seemed to resolve some of the hard shifting and bucking which manifested from the transmission at the time. Yesterday, a year later, with 85,000 miles on the vehicle, I had the same service done (along with changing the PTU and rear differential oil). I requested that the tech collect a sample of the old fluid for me, as I'd like to have an analysis done. I found the sample to be nearly black in color. Correct me if I'm wrong - but isn't the ULV fluid red when fresh? For what it's worth, I didn't notice any distinct "burnt" smell.
The transmission seems to work okay, with no more hard shifting and bucking than the last 60,000 miles we've had the car. But based on the fluid color I wonder if I have an impending transmission failure. Wondering if the hive mind has any thoughts on this.
I'm expecting the lab results from Blackstone in a couple of weeks. Hopefully that will provide some insight.