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So, instead of throwing money to the stealership right off the bat, I thought some of the wise users and DIYers could give me some suggestions about the problem i'm heaving. I've scoured forums and articles online and realize there are many threads about transmission problems but what gets me is that I see combinations of symptoms from various problems people have encountered. I know no one wants to read a novel so I'll try to make it short and to the point.

Recently, my car ('98 Civic EX, automatic transmission) has been "rumbling" and hard shifting when accelerating from a stop. Maybe this qualifies as a "jerk" that many describe but it does not seem so drastic to me. It is just very slow and has a hard time catching.

Transmission problems seem to occur after it has warmed up - I see this is a common symptom for various problems.

Engine light came on when driving on a road trip (do not have the codes with me ATM but will post back as soon as I get home - basically faulty transmission codes though)

Most recently, driving on the interstate my car did not want to shift into 5th gear if I accelerate too quickly. It will stay at a high RPM and every so often I will hear a belt give off a quick squeal. My serpentine belt is loose (I believe - it gives off a shrill squeal sometimes until I give the accelerator some juice. I was told this won't affect the transmission though). When I very gradually accelerate it will shift through all gears though (albeit a bit later than I feel like it normally does).

I checked the transmission fluid and it seemed to be a little low (It was very hard to get a clean dip though because of the location) so I added some fluid and it seemed to help for a couple days, but has progressively just gotten worse again. The color was still a nice pinkish/red and regular maintenance has been done, except it is maybe a thousand or so miles past its most recently scheduled transmission flush.

Thanks to all for any help you can give me!

 
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Codes are as follows:
P0700 - Automatic transmission fault
1. Indicates trans fault - check other codes

P0730 - Faulty shift control system
Probable cause:
1 - low transmission fluid level
2 - poor electrical connection
3 - failed transmission shift control system