98 Ford Taurus wont shift into gear

I drove my tori from Los Angeles to Dallas about 6 months ago, and everything was fine, (besides a check engine light that has been on for over 5 years, but never affected performance). Then, like a week after I got to Dallas, I noticed my driver's side locks stopped working, although the other locks still work fine. Then last month, the door ajar light started coming on even when the doors were all closed.

A few days ago, I start the car and try to shift to drive and NOTHING! Then, after a few minutes of trying, it finally goes into gear. This happens everytime I try to go somewhere. Then today, nothing, even after trying, the shifter feels stuck and it just wont move. My tranny fluid is still cherry red, not black or burnt, so I dont think the tranny is gone.

It feels like the car just started to DIE after I drove it out here...I feel like I killed it...I usually service it often, but money's funny in Dallas

Seriously though, could this be an an electrical problem dealing with sensors that also connect to the door light and door lock? I read something on another blog about Taurus speedometers going out when the gears stop shifting, and found out that happens because the speed sensor breaks and that sensor tells the tranny when it should switch and also controls the speedometer. My speedometer and other dashboard stuff still works fine though. Could it be that check engine light that I thought was nothing this whole time? Please help! I've read so many blogs and none of them had my exact problem, any advice or suggestions? Thanks!

Hi toritaurus98, welcome to the forum

To me it sounds more that there is a variety of problems here than only one problem causing all this. You have checked all cables?

Perhaps you should ask the Taurus Car Club of America (TCCA) ?

98 Ford Taurus Shift but will not move in any gear.

Try checking the brake pedal swith under dash, the switch floats with the pedal as you depress it, and over the time wiring will brake and lose connetion. You can purchase a new wiring connector at parts house or just repair broken wires. One quick check is to make sure brake light are still working. Or another problem can be the MLP sensor at the transmission. This switch has to read proper transmission position to the computer.