Tranny problem

Hello guys, im having some strange occurences with my car (1991 ford taurus wagon).. I tried searching for something that might be similar to this problem, but its so weird and random I didnt even know where to begni searching *shrug*

anyways, i've had some problems with the tranny (auto) before, and for awhile its been rough on starts, like when accelerating from a complete stop it would sorta jolt a little. happened semi-frequently, until one day the it wouldnt go at all. at a stoplight, i tried to move froward but instead it just jolted and RPM would increase with no speed at all. I pushed the car to the side and i realized that it would go in reverse, but not in D or 1 or 2. So i drove it home in reverse (about 10 blocks, lol). Funny thing is, when i got it home, i couldnt even start the engine anymore. When the problem first occured, i tried turning off the engine and turning it back on and it was workin fine, but as of now the engine wouldnt even turn on. battery's fine, im pretty sure starter's fine... and now i am just thoroughly confused.

So, any ideas on what might be the problem, and would it be fixable? or is it time to junk this POS...?

My first questions are about fluid level and what the linkage looks like. If the linkage is not in the right place in Either Nuetral or Park the car will not begin to try and turn over. What does your fulid level look like and what does the car do when you try and start it? Does it try and crank or does it do nothing? I'm wondering if the linkage is off and your stuck in reverse, the car will not even turn over in reverse.