i got it to fire up ...it smokes..the guy says it sat for a while .....its ****s from the column fine but no action ....filter? maybe ......or torque converter its a 3 speed th350

 

i hate to say it but make sure the linkage is completely hooked up....on an old chevy where i once worked it came apart with it in park so it went nowhere until i figured it out, a piece of it had rusted through

 

you meanfrom the column to the trans itself? its all connected i turned it by hand and it moved the column bc its free flowing

 

If everything is hooked up and you put it from Park to drive and it goes nowhere, a filter will not fix that. The trans is toast. Pull the dip stick and look at the fluid. It should be a red color. If its brown, the trans is done. The fluid will have a bad smell to it too. If it looks NEW, the PO prolly knew there is an issue and changed the fluid in hopes that it would work. Id bet the clutch packs in the trans are roasted and will not engauge.