AJ, what I thought he was saying didn't mesh with the advise he was given so I read it and reread and ended up posting the question I did
I guess the next question would be, is there a clear "click" as he goes through the gears?
(if not, that would point towards the linkage)
if the click is there, it might be the reverse of this post
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=310198