I just got a 1996 Honda Accord and the previous owner replaced the transmission and didn't finish the last few feet of the custom exhaust. I'm curious as to if the lack of acceleration could be caused by being improperly tuned. It also seems to be a little long legged between shifts with the new transmission

 

Is it a 4-cyl or V-6?
Auto or manual transmission?

You might have to figure out where the transmission came from, as far as the gear ratios being far apart. Seems to me that's the opposite problem I would expect, because for example a Prelude transmission would have shorter gears because it's DOHC engine revs higher than the SOHC engine in your Accord. But that's for a 4-cyl manual situation...

 

Another thought, in case its an automatic transmission...

There's a 2nd throttle cable, from the throttle body down to the transmission. If that cable is loose, then the transmission thinks you aren't trying to accelerate, and it'll shift early. The primary throttle cable (from the pedal to the throttle) should go slack when you don't have your foot on the pedal. But the other cable down to the transmission should be adjusted to just remove any of its slack. The lever on the transmission should begin to move even with a very slight opening of the throttle.

 

It's a 4 cylinder and an automatic currently. Looking forward to finding a manual transmission for it