He's saying that you may or may not be able to scan in real time; depending on the type of scanner.
Our 3800's are computer controlled therebye causing delayed down shifts - nature of the beast.
The tangential iteration about the 4th clutch hub is just Bill thinking out loud.
I would say that your only options are to either get it scanned in real time or start swapping parts until you hit the jackpot. It's difficult to diagnose without scan data and no DTC's.
Me? I would just bite the bullet and get it scanned.