Whats a girl to do?

I have a great 96 Tracker. We are keeping the maintenance up but I have ran into a problem. My car will not start.. starters fine.. full power from battery. Sometimes it starts just fine then nothing. I messed with the shifter and it finally started. I'm considering its the nuetral safety switch but not sure. Does anyone have any ideas.. oh yeah.. my shifter is on the outs as well.. im thinking of replacing the whole thing. could there be an esier way... trying to save money and my shadetree guy replaces and trobleshootes but we are in a gray area with this new problem.

Manual shift??

Check the position of the neutral safety switch, adjust as needed.

Check clutch pedal free play (how far it sinks before you feel the clutch begin to resist your pressure). More than 1.5" is too much, Less than about 3/4" is too little. Adjust the clutch cable.

Is the clutch slipping, i.e. you press down on the gas, the engine revs up, but you don't move off as fast as you used to? Time for a new clutch.

Good luck.