just bolted converter up and poured 4 qts of tranny fluid in, its got a slow leak from the 1st bolt that holds the bracket for the shifter cable, did i tighten it too much? what do i do?

Tranny pan bolts are tempermental about torque. I always recommend using a paper gasket and torque the bolts to spec working from one corner of the pan to the next. Cork gaskets tend to crack and almost always weep fluid. Torque is usually 10-12 ft*lbs. I'll torque them all to 8 and then final torque to spec. Also, if the pan bolt holes are dimpled, take a ball-peen hammer to them and bump them out flat. If you've got clean fluid in it, consider purchasing one of those drill mounted pumps and pump the fluid out through the disptick. Much less hassle than tipping the pan. The fluid can be pumped back in when your done.

-dnult