superloop-
i think i may have found the trouble. i took a closer look at the transmission and the leak/spillage was only on the passenger side. so i wiped down the cats (where the fluid was burning), the dipstick tube, and some other parts, took it for another test drive, looked under there again and found the leak.
it was coming from the dipstick tube, running all the way down from the top. i also noticed that the tube was a little loose at the bottom where it meets the transmission (don't think it's supposed to be loose, but there's no way to tighten it). i took the dipstick out and tightened the rubber bushing on the flange that seals the top of the tube, and pushed it back in- it fits snugly, and sealed the top. hopefully this was the only problem.
i was also wandering if i may have overfilled the AOD with transmission fluid. could that cause an overspillage when the fluid gets hot enough?- boiling out thru the top of the dipstick or thru the bottom vent of the AOD? again all the spillage was on the passenger side outside of the transmission only- none of it seemed to come from the inside.