No forward or reverse

I have a 97 Contour and the all of a sudden it won't move in forward or reverse. I just bought the car and have noticed the transmissions are notorious for being junk. Luckily I didn't pay much and have a second car. I was wondering if the problem could be a sensor (I read about that at another site), or if the transmission is just shot. Thanks for your feedback.
dave

Your differential could be shot or it could be one of your axles.

MTX or ATX?

It's the 1996 Ford Contour GL Sport Sedan with ATX...I've called a shop recommended by a friend and he says he'd have to run a diagnostic first, and if the tranny needs to be rebuilt, he would do it for $850.00...I used to turn a wrench back in the day, but never messed with transmissions. I don't know how hard it would be to drop another one in. Thanks for your feedback, dave

I had the psame problem with my son's 96 contour. We thought it was the tranny but it ended up being the front passenger half-shaft. It was about $130 and we put it in ourselves. Son was trying to burn rubber. go figure!