99 Cougar 5 Speed Shifting Problems-No Gears

[misfitmaster]

I have a 1999 Merc Cougar 2.5L w/5 Speed. Long story short, put the car in reverse to pull out of a space.Backed up and went to put the car in 1st-but there was no first..or2nd,3rd,4th,5th or even reverse all of a sudden! Clutch pedal feels fine just as it was when all was good.When I try to put the shifter in gear it's like there are NO gears at all.I can just move it all around like there are no "gates" for the gears for me to go into.Its pretty much in neutral all the time.Even with the car off there are NO gears to go into. I have to push the clutch in to start it still and when I let the clutch out it stays running even if I try pushing the shifter into where the gears should be because it's not actually getting into any gear.The linkages look fine from what I can tell. ANY HELP would be appreciated!!