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re: "...Having replaced my radiator 1 year ago.... the transmission oil breach comes as a surprise and thus i was wondering. Can the auto fluid cooler communicate with the radiator cooler via any possible means?..."
You installed the radiator by having someone do it, right? If you did it yourself, you'd know that there are two transmission lines that run ATF into and out of the passenger side tank of the radiator. Inside is a heat exchanger that lets the ATF cool down to the coolant temperature (which is about the proper temperature of a warmed up transmission) -- the ATF flows through a pipe that is surrounded by coolant -- heat passes through the walls of the pipe. But if the pipe has a leak, the fluids will transfer and mix between them. ATF runs at a very low pressure, much less than the coolant with the engine is running and warmed up; with a warmed up engine, coolant flows into the ATF through the leak; when the engine is cold, the ATF is under greater pressure, so it flows into the coolant. All in all, both fluids become contaminated, but the transmission suffers far, far more than the cooling system.
As for your problem, obviously the heat exchanger in your "new" radiator has failed, and the fluids (coolant and ATF are mixing). Far worse than seeing traces of ATF in your coolant is the fact that, since the coolant has much higher pressure when the engine is running, coolant has certainly contaminated your automatic transmission!
Do-it-yourselfing is a good way to learn about your car, and I highly recommend it even if you can afford to have a mechanic do every little thing for you. By the way, changing the radiator is one of the easiest jobs in the car -- just a couple of standard tools, and no unnecessary dirt; you don't even have to crawl under the car.
New radiators (either Volvo brand, or a metal one from Nissen) rarely fail so soon! You should try to confirm whether your "mechanic" really installed a new radiator, or just passed off a used one, with a paint job, as new! He might then be liable for the costs of the replacement transmission you'll likely need.
Good luck.
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