Automatic stuck in 2nd gear??

[Spike440]

I forgot to post this when it happened, but last week my battery died while I was working in the garage at our new house, listening to music from the alero. When I was ready to leave the car wouldnt start, but the headlights and all other electronics in the car seemed to be bright and made me think the battery wasnt dead, so I walked about 2 miles back to my apartment because it was late. The next morning I borrowed my neighbors car, jumped it, and had my girlfriend drive it to the apartment and I drove my neighbors car back. She told me the tach was being funny and she said it kept saying it was running really high rpms, I was driving right behind her and my alero doesnt have a muffler and it didnt seem loud as if it was revving high. Well I left for work with it about 10 minutes after that, and once I was on the merging ramp to the highway I realized I was stuck in 2nd gear. The car wouldnt shift into 3rd or 1st so I basically drove 50 until I could get on the backroads ( at about 4000 rpms ) and another 20 miles driving like that. When I got to work I disconnected the battery and put the cables back on when I was on my 2nd break, and then it shifted "normally" (my vehicle shifts at about 2500 rpms no matter how far down the pedal is, and wont downshift) Never heard of this happening and thought it was very odd. Also How would I determine if I have a bad speed sensor? Sometimes when I first start my alero and start driving and braking, the abs will kick in, like I can feel the vibration in the pedal and it makes the electronic noise.