96 EXPLORER Automatic Transmission - What does it really need?

What is your question?

My faithful servant a 1996 Explorer XLT 6 cylinder with Automatic Control Trac 4WD (with 180,000 Miles)has given me few troubles & still looks & runs good & has done more than expected for so many years & miles, until now. The transmission has become completely inoperable, it will not at all go into any gear, forward or reverse. It did so instantaneously, from one moment running flawlessly, as always to the next, like flipping off a switch, it is totally non functioning, period. In my past I have had a number of other vehicles eventually have automatic transmission problems that would end up needing a major rebuild-repair or replacement. In all of these previous vehicle transmissions there was always advance warnings, tell tale signs like the typical slipping into gear, sluggiah shifts & the easily noticable hints of transmission troubles ahead. Not at all with this Explorer. It had properly & fully functioned flawlessly all the way to the point where while driving downhill then leveling off & having to speed up the engine in order to maintain speed where at an instant the trtansmission stopped working & every forward or reverse gear while engaged was exactly like reving the enjine in neutral. Not even it's attempt to be powering any gear. I did have it towed to two Transmission specialsts & was told by both that the transmission had to be rebuilt-exchanged at an amount that is realistically a bit more that the value of the vehicle. My gut feeling really is that I sense that neither shop actually did any substantial evualation to it because at both shops the vehicle had to be towed away suspicially from the exact spot in their parking lot that the Tow driver had previously left it when the vehicle was towed to them for diagnosis. To me whe way it had ceased operating in an instant & knowing that this transmission is controlled by a somewhat complicated computer "brain" I suspect that perhaps the cause of the probles may be something electrical, from some wire connection seperating, or the "brain" malfunctioning or missing an update or set of codes or perhaps some fuseable link or circuit breaker - fuse tripped & thus produces these results. I really do not want to have this otherwise reliable, fully functioning vehicle that has served me well to be junked for parts & scrap when it is still viable. Could anyone please make some suggestions as to what is the real problem & hopefully offer a suggestion as what I can do to keep it functioning & appreciated without an expensive unwise or unnecessary repair. I would be very appreciative for any help. Mike K