Been driving 4 speeds or 5 speeds pretty muchb for the last 10 years. My 98 is an A4 do I want to put it in D or 3 when not on the interstate and looking for better performance off the line.

 

74 looks and no opinions? I know its a dumb noon question but i did a search and found nothing

 

D or 3,the same,both start off in 1st.
D or 3,the forward sprag is engaged in starting from a stop
1st or 2nd,the overrunning clutches are used in starting from a stop

 

This recent thread covers your question and probably has more info than you want:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/automatic...-drive-od.html

In short, with a stock transmission it really doesn't matter.
Technically, as FirstYrLS1Z mentions, it will be a bit more durable if you start in [1] or [2]. But the performance is the same.

 

On the street (below 55 mph) select 3 (3rd position from bottom).

On the freeway (above 55 mph) select D (4th position from bottom).

 

My TA only has 1-2-3-D-N-R-P when i had my 99 V6 camaro it had 1-2-3-D-[D]-N-R-P or something liket that. Is there a Differnece between the 2 besides the obvious OD?? Ive always wondered why One had OD and the other Didnt

 

Your V6 had 1-2-D-[D]-N-R-P (7 positions, not 8)

1-2-3-D-N-R-P has a 1:1 correspondence with 1-2-D-[D]-N-R-P.

 

Thanks for the clarification.