When they go, they go. Mine locked up at rush hour, on the interstate, on a dip under a bridge on a blind curve in downtown St Louis. Pretty scary when it happens, I also thought I would be OK, just skipped 2nd. Worked for a while, until it didn't
When gasoline sits a long time it loses octane, so just in case your gas has been sitting 6 months, it brings up the octane in your tank. At least that's why I do the same in the spring.
Man, you can't imagine how many of these went to landfills, including mine. I've seen them for sale here, but don't recall ever seeing any takers. There should be plenty of them around, so many people changed their pipes.