I had a trans act like this years ago. It felt like the converter was TOO loose though. When I tried to accelerate, the engine revved up and the car moved but it felt strained. Like you, the rpms seemed to build much slower than in neutral.
They just exchanged the trans and later, I mean weeks later, I heard that the trans was completely fried inside.
Not trying to dump doom and gloom on you here, this is just my experience.
Also, 1800 is a really low stall speed for any muscle type car. A stock 340 or 383 4 barrel car was rated over 2000, the 426 Hemi was 2350 according to a service manual I read. Add in any bigger cam and the stall speed needs to be increased.
Axle gearing is another issue. The standard ratio for a 340 4 barrel or a 383 4 barrel was a 3.23. Again, if you have a bigger cam, the gearing needs to be stepped up as well.
Using a low stall converter and a 2.76 axle is like letting out the clutch (IN a manual trans) at idle in 2nd gear and flooring the gas pedal. It will eventually move but it takes a while to get there.