My daughter's 91 automatic has been behaving fine, but recently I
noticed a little spotting on the back hatch, which led me to check the
AT fluid level and it was a little bit low.

When I mentioned it to her, she said that the car had recently been
doing a weird thing starting off. The engine would race, sometimes
barking the tires when things engaged. At a stop sign, rather than
keeping the car at the line on a hill, the slack in the transmission
sometimes--randomly--lets the car roll back a few feet before it will
"catch" again.

I have never had a vanagon with an AT. What's the proper procedure for
checking the level? The owners manual gives some detail but does not
even specify whether the car is to be running or not when the level is
checked.

Anything else I should be considering?

Jim