98 Sunfire shift cable problems...

So i bought this 98 2.2 5 speed stick a little while ago and the lady told me that the car was stuck in 2nd so i get it to my house and simply pop the shift cable back onto the anchor at the tranny.. worked fine for a little bit then after a few shifts it popped back off... anyone else have this problem? am i going to have to replace the entire cable?

And also it seems to be having a hard time starting up... put in a brand new battery and that didnt help much.. also i get a weird burning rubber smell from it... any help on any of this would be much appreciated

Try replacing your starter. I had trouble getting my 98 sunfire to start untill my starter went out and i replaced it. It now starts third crank. I also had the problrm with the shift cable i put it back in its slot and a week later it snapped so i am not sure.