Tranny Help On Project Car

[Archer2kGTS]

Hey all, I'm new to these boards and decided to join. Anyways, I've ran into a bit of trouble with one of my project cars. I just bought a 89 Plymouth Colt Vista 4D for under $1G /w less than 35K Original on it. I basically got it as a fix it up, plus as an alternative to the celica. Anyways, this is whats up with it (I'm a complete dumbass when it comes to manual, or automatic for that matter, trannys. I can put in a short shifter kit in my celica, but don't ask me how it works :P).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1)Car starts fine, runs great no problems there
2)I can shift the gearbox into gear, and feel it hit notches
3)When someone shifts it for me while I watch the bay, I can see the linkage move in the engine bay
4)After putting it into gear and releasing the clutch fast, the car will not jump and die as it should
Is it the clutch/pressure plate not clamping down? Or is there somewhere else (and cheaper) I should be looking to diagnose this problem at?
Thanks for any help at all.
-Anthony