Auto transmission --overdrive in snow- no traction at take off

That's normal operation for automatic traction control.

Your car has disabled the traction control for some reason. Common reasons include

-tires spinning on ice or snow
-slipping clutch or transmission
-misfiring engine
-car is grumpy

Traction control is sort of the opposite of antilock brakes. When you push on the gas, it cuts back power to the wheels if they lose their grip.

It has second gear start. To activate and provide extra traction when pulling out of snow and muddy ground. z28 have positive traction rears.

This button turns the All-Wheel-Drive (AWD) function on and off. When the "TRACTION" light is on, the AWD function is on -- AWD should be on in snow / ice.

Charlie

This button turns off the Traction Control system, this system automatically helps to control wheel spin like on ice and snow.

The basic explanation of these gears are as follows.
2up/2wd is a basic two wheel drive setting where the vehicle will react as a rear wheel drive. In this gear the transmission will only distribute power to the two rear wheels(best for all around driving with clear road conditions and will give the best fuel efficiency).
4up/4wd is a high speed four wheel drive setting. in this gear the transmission will always distribute power to all four wheels and will allow you to drive at higher rates of speed( good for poor road conditions when ice and wet roads are a moderate risk).
4dwn/4lo is a low gear four wheel drive setting where again the transmission will distribute power to all four wheels but will limit you to a low rate of speed(good for really rough roads and severe weather or very poor traction conditions).
auto gear selection is basically a all wheel drive setting, where the transmission will use a primary setting of rear wheel drive gearing until the vehicle slips or looses traction on one of the drive traction. as soon as the transmission detects a difference in wheel speed between the two rear wheels, at which time the transmission locks up the front differential turning itself into a four wheel drive, until the wheels have regained traction and remain spinning at the same speed for a set amount of time, at which time it will then unlock the front differential at return to a rear wheel drive setting. this is a good all around gear but will cause you to get slightly less mpg/kpg then a 2up/2wd gear would. i hope this helps

High to low /low to high ratio, you will need to be stopped and the transmission in neutral for this to be changed.
The 2wd - Auto - Lock switch can be switched at any time, as it operates an electromagnetic clutch - 2wd is rear wheels driving only - Auto - is to automatically engage 4wd when wheel slippage is detected (this also happens when turning at intersections, due to the inside wheels having a shorter path to the outside wheels, and can give a binding effect on sealed roads (I don't drive with it in auto on sealed roads) auto is excellent if you get, or expect wheel spin from an intersection when wet, just flick it on before or when you have wheel spin, also on gravel roads, having it on auto will greatly reduce the sliding of the back end, and make the car noticeably more stable.
Lock - this locks the differential, which further reduces wheel spin, when in mud / snow, but this will also make the car not want to turn corners, due to it resisting the different distances traveled by the inside and outside wheels.
A/T switch - this actually has 3 positions, and changes the shifting points of the automatic transmission - the middle is normal - Hold is to hold the gear longer, to improve fuel economy, and not change down (kick down) as quickly - Power has the opposite effect, it makes the transmission change down sooner under acceleration.
Also the O/D (overdrive) button on the side of the Tee shift lever, is to engage / disengage overdrive (5th gear) - never do heavy towing in overdrive, this will cook the transmission and overheat the engine (due to the radiator being used as a heat exchanger for the transmission fluid.
Another little quirk - if the transmission light starts flashing every 40 to 50 km, this can indicate that the wheels are different diameters (a flat tyre, or tyres have been swapped around and the spare is more or less worn than the other tyres), the computer will pickup that the wheels are turning at different speeds.
When cold, it is normal for the transmission to stay in 3rd (2-3 minutes of driving), until it has warmed up, and then stay in 4th for a few more km's (5-6 minutes), before it has warmed up enough to change into 5th (overdrive).

ETS is Enhanced Traction System is used to stop wheel slip thru reducing engine output. And if the light is on it doesn't mean you will spend x amount of dollars to fix it! It just means that ETS has been disabled because you have a engine problem and the computer cannot reduce power to the wheels because the engine might stall so the computer disables the system! Now some cars come with a switch by the shifter that turns on and off the system because if you get stuck in the snow traction control will keep you from getting stuck

If you are still stuck in the driveway, that's why the ABS light is still on. Get a snow shovel and dig the car out. Once you get the car on the road and all the wheels are turning the same speed the ABS light will most likely go off. It doesn't hurt anything to drive the car with the ABS light on. What that light is telling you is, the "Antilock Brake System" (ABS) is not working. The brakes will still work but, the antilock portion will not, so when you hit a icy patch, the wheels can lock during braking. The ABS senses the speed of all the wheels and if you have been spinning the wheel in the snow, it throws the system out of sychronization. Once you get out of the snow and you start to drive the light will go off, if the system is in working order. The light should go off in a block or two, if not stop the car shut the engine off and restart it. Try it again and see if the goes off, if not there's a problem with the system, get it to a shop.

sounds like transmission damaged. if forward gears are operational, suspect transmission failure. If nothing working ( either in 2 or 4 wheel drive) suspect transmission or transfer case.