[NH_Bulldog]

I have never had an issue with the transmission. Always smooth, and never seems to “seek” when pulling long hills, but that could be a factor more related to the engine power/torque.

Yes, you can lock out higher gears if you want, but only top down, not bottom up. For example, in regular drive mode, just tap the gear selector switch on the shift column down and it removes “10” from the display. Click again and “9” goes away. Again and “8” goes away, etc. etc.