Joe, I
am listening to Dan. It seems you didn't read our dialogue attentively.
Using ATF instead of oil seems to me like something not proven safe yet.
This video by Dan has this in its description:
Obviously he is not 100% sure that ATF should be used for these hubs.
I don't want to experiment, therefore I would rather stick to proven solutions, ok? Aaron's Bicycle Repair guys have enough professional experience and certainly wouldn't recommend using Phil Wood Tenacious Oil for the gears, pawls and cone bearings, if it wasn't optimal for Shimano hubs.
Mine was 48T front 21T rear, I'm going to swap rear for 19T ring now (I've got both). I want it geared close to when I had 7-speed rear derailleur. 21T is not enough for that.
I
do jump off curbs sometimes, but carefully and slowly. But I try to never shift while turning pedals (sometimes it happens unintentionally).
I want first to hear Dan's feedback on my assumption that this might be caused by lithium grease around cone bearings and gears. If he'll confirm, I'll re-lubricate the hub as described above.
I know that they aren't sealed well, that's why I use
Phil Wood waterproof grease for outer bearings, and under the seals outboard of the bearings, like you do.
Immersed in what?