My 1999 cougar is in 3rd gear. The shift lever and linkage is working. I have looked at the top of the trans. and all is connected, but the movement causes no action in the transmission. Can ayone tell me where to go from here? Thanks for the 1st answer re bad cable. but i pulled air box and can see both cables functioning fine. My question is: is there a pin in the rail mechanism that may be the problem that can be accessed by removing the top of the transmission in the car. I do not have a schematic for it yet. I have never cracked this particular type of tranny and don't know what the rail set up looks like. Thanks.