My Honda feels sluggish in 3rd gear, any

My Honda Civic from 2008 feels like it has no power in 3rd gear even in high RPM's. 1st, 2nd, and 4th feel perfectly fine (i don't use 5th enough to notice it) and it seems like they have lots of power (relative to 3rd gear). When i go up hill i feel the car shift from 1st to 2nd and then to 3rd but then the RPM's fall as if the engine was under stress. Then it shifts back into 2nd to compensate. Any ideas?
(Its a 2008 Honda Civic automatic, base model)

"When i go up hill"

UH, genius, 3rd gear isn't exactly a good gear for uphill runs…