Stuck in park and now drive light is on too...

I just buttoned up my timing belt and "while I'm in there" upgrades and reconnected the negative battery terminal after having it disconnected for over a year. The 4.7 started up great, however I can't shift out of park and after a few minutes of idling the drive indicator light came on at the same time as park (see picture). The truck is currently in my garage on jack stands (all four corners). Any ideas how I can get it to shift out of park?

Thanks!

 

Is the shift lever moving and clicking like normal? Maybe have someone shimmy a rear wheel forwards and backwards while moving the lever? I wonder if the shift selector switch is the cause of the double light.

 

Do your brake lights work when you step on the brake ?

 

The brake lights work (all three) and putting the truck on the ground didn't help. I took the steering column cover off and confirmed the brake lockout pin is receding when the brakes are pressed. I wonder if the transmission is stuck in park from sitting so long? Or maybe the shift cable or arm are frozen? I tried spraying them with PB Blaster but that didn't seem to do anything. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

 

Disconnect shifter cable from trans and manually shift it through gears to see if its trans or cable/linkage?

 

Can you shift into neutral if the ignition key is in another position and the truck is not running?

 

I tried in every key position and it's a no go. I'll try disconnecting the shift cable in the transmission side and see if I can shift by hand.

 

My money is on the cable being froze/stuck. @assassin10000 had a great idea. Get it off the ground (all 4 corners) and see if you can move the shift bellcrank by hand and put it through the gears with the engine running.

 

Does the engine need to be running to move the shift lever on the transmission by hand? I'm nervous being under it running and in gear, even on four jack stands.

 

Nope.

If can put it in neutral, you could then start it afterwards.

You could also have someone sit in the truck with their foot on the brakes if you want to shift it while running.

 

It's exhilarating laying under the truck in the belly of the beast and watching everything moving above you. Makes you feel alive!
In all sincerity, I don't blame you for feeling uneasy about being under the truck. Leave it on the ground, have a partner hold the brake pedal, and rotate the bellcrank. I believe it rotates forward to put it in gear. Reverse first, then Neutral, etc...

 

Jack it up?

Thats why creepers have wheels, just hold on tight and try not to get caught under a tire.

 

Just wanted to complete the loop on this thread. I removed the bolt fastening the shifter cable to the transmission and was able to move the shift lever on the column no issue. So the shift cable isn't frozen. I tried moving the transmission shift arm by hand, but couldn't. I made sure all four wheels were off the ground on the jack stands and then started the truck. I hit the transmission shift arm with a 1.5 pound sledge (towards the front of the truck) and after many hard hits it started to move. It kept inching forward until....BAM! The rear wheels started spinning! I made it into reverse! I kept pounding and the wheels stopped. I found neutral. Kept pounding and made it into drive. I stopped the truck and re-attached the shift cable to the transmission arm. I was then able to "move through the gears" (except "L" for some reason, I couldn't get past "3", but that doesn't worry me too much).

Thanks for all the help with this!

However, the "D" light stays on all the time now. So when I'm in Park the "P" and "D" will be lit. When I'm in Reverse the "R" and "D" will be lit. And so on...