Torque converter?
 

Hey guys, so here's the deal. Few weeks ago I started to hear a rattling noise that I thought was a heat shield issue because it sounded EXACTLY like a heat shield. So my naïvety and assumption turned out to be completely wrong. I was about to park my 2000 Blazer, went to shift from drive to reverse and it wouldn't go anywhere, and the rattling stopped. Would not engage in any gear, and kept idling, however, when I'd let off the gas, it'd kind hesitate and act like it was going to die. I've been told it could be the bolts from the torque converter, but I'd like to hear your guy's opinions. I'm not totally mechanically declined, but I'm not a master mechanic by any means, so any advice and comments will be helpful.

Broken flex plate comes to mind. Will it start up after shut off? With a broken flex plate that the vehicle won't move usually won't start the engine. Starter will engage but motor won't spin. If it starts I might think it would be a converter or pump issue. You can check fluid flow by removing top cooler line at the radiator and put the hose in a container and have someone start vehicle and see if fluid is pumping. If not broken pump rotor or converter hub.

Thanks for your input. Got underneath it to see what was going on, turned out all 3 bolts for the torque converter were gone. Just straight up disappeared. Got new ones in, cranked down with loctite, and it's still kinda got a rattle going on, so when I have some free time just gonna drop the Trans and replace the flexplate cause I noticed one of the bolt holes were warped on the flexplate itself.