Transmission/drivetrain hesitation problem

[ITA47]

I have a late 99 F250 4x4 7.3L with a stock automatic transmission. The truck has 153,000 miles on it. The problem is from a stop when I accelerate the engine will speed up and I get a slight hesitation before the truck will begin to move. It feels like slack in a gear if you know what I mean. Engine speeds up and it takes a second to take the slack out of the drivetrain or something? Once moving everything seems fine. It does this everytime you come to a stop and begin to accelerate. Does this sound like a transmission or torque converter issue, or could I have wear in the rear end and have some slop in the gear? My guess is that it is transmission related but I can't pin point it. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? I hope someone can help me out.

Thanks!

[BIGBILL105 45]

To me it sounds like a TC issue.

[Big_Stroker]

Ether your TC is slipping really bad or 1st gear is slipping.

[ITA47]

If it's the T.C. I wonder how the trany would hold up if I pulled it out, put in a new T.C. and maybe install a shift kit to firm up the shifts? I really don't want to spend $4,000+ right now on a transmission. I really don't put that many miles on the truck, it's not my daily driver just used to pull trailers and haul stuff. I have heard the T.C. is the weak link in these trucks.