Update:

Did some fiddeling with the NSS today. Had the roommate watch reverse lights as I moved the NSS back and forth. Never got reverse lights to work but it does have 4th gear now. Still no1/2 gear. It still acts like it's in drive when in 1/2. But an improvement none the less. -Went and played in the mud a little after.. Made me feel a little better.

Any advice on what to do next? Thanks fellas!

The NSS is just a rotary switch that closes individual circuits when the center piece is rotated around. Do you have an multimeter? Disconnect the NSS, and check for resistance on the two pins shown with the shifter in reverse. If you get continuity when the switch is closed then the NSS is working and the problem with the backup lights is somewhere else. http://webpages.charter.net/laurajef...ch_Test_2b.jpg If you get nothing, then the NSS is out of position or defective.

From there you can use a little jumper wire on the main harness for the same pins. That will close the main circuit the same as the NSS switch. If the taillights come on, your problem is right there somewhere (bent pin in the connector, or something). If they don't come on then the problem is further upstream.

Check the TCU fuse in the PDC under the hood, look for broken wiring, etc

Of course no MM.. I really need to get more familiar with electronics and resistance testing.. I already checked PDC, how do I go about checking TCM? Not that I can't do a little research myself.. Thanks.