98 Taurus Transmission problems

We have a 98 Taurus starting about 2 weeks ago my wife noticed that the speedometer would all of a sudden stop working and within just a few minutes the transmission did not want to shift.{ Also when the speedometer stops working she says when she starts to turn lets say right at a stop sign the steering is hard almost like it has not power steering I don't have any idea what this might have to do with the speedometer not working but it all happens at once}

Now we have changed the transmission filter and transmission fluid at first we thought it was fixed but within a day it was right back to doing the same thing again.
Does anyone have any idea what it might be? Any and all help I would be grateful we can not afford a new car right now.

Welcome to the forum!

Your symptoms sound similar to what some others on this forum have experienced with a bad Transmission Range Sensor, aka park/neutral safety switch and Digital Transmission Range Sensor.

For details and comparisons, you should use the "Search this forum" feature from the Taurus forum main page. Look for keywords "TRS" or "DTRS."

-Rod