96 Jeep Grand Cherokee orvis edition 5.2 v8 318
 

Transmission staying in drive all the time could it be a sensor or just the transmission period

This should probably be OEM tech, but whatever. Welcome!

When you say it stays in drive, do you mean it won't go into park, neutral or reverse, or do you mean you can't select a lower gear? Since the truck is OBD-II compliant, you might want to check for a transmission trouble code. You could have a bad lockout sensor.