Why is my vw beetle shifting so hard into first both upshifting and downshifting?

i have a 1999 vw beetle 2.0 ltr 4 cyl a couple of days ago it started acting funny. It takes a couple of seconds to get it to shift from park into drive and then after you start going it will act up one time feels like its skipping and only does it again when you shut the car off. Any way it sounds and feels like there is no fluid in there kinda like taking a hamer and slapping it with another hammer im a mechanic myself but i know that beetles have a sealed transmission and i dont know much about them. Any good answers. Nothing like get a new car. The truth is all cars are crap now a days and thats just so the manufatures can make more money. Thanks