I pulled the shifter to do a clutch job. When I pulled it, it took a bit of wiggling like it didn't want to freely lift out. When it came free I heard a a nice solid (spring loaded?)CLACK- much like releasing the bolt on my AK47(same tone & volume). After the clutch job (from hell), the shifter dropped right in. Now it won't shift, but whatever gear it is in is nice & quiet. Clutch works- verified by rotating drive shaft with fingers while my son held the clutch pedal down. I have read 2 threads that warn "PUT TRANS IN NEUTRAL!", but they didn't state what will happen if you don't. I was not aware of the need for it to be in neutral and paid no attention to what gear it happened to be in. The last gear I remember using was 1st as a parking brake. The truck had sat 18 months and the brakes were rusted sticky & I did not want to use the emergency brake until I changed the rear shoes.
I'm hoping that IF the input shaft did not seat in the pilot bearing & instead pushed the input shaft into the gear box, THEN the transmission would be jammed up and make grinding noises and no gear would work. IF this is the case, THEN because I have first or second gear nice & quiet, my fear about the pilot bearing/input shaft can be laid to rest. This brings me back to "what happens when you forget to shift to neutral BEFORE pulling the shifter up & out", and how do I realign what ever slipped?

 

The reason you need to PUT THE TRANS IN NEUTRAL, is because of what you have now, locked up transmission or between gear transmission.
When you reinstalled the shifter you pushed the shifting forks out of alignment so 2 gears are engaged at the same time.

You will need to remove shifter again and use a screwdriver to manually put trans in neutral.
Once the shifter is out you will see the two shifting forks, last picture here:
TRS Magazine - Shifter Bushing Replacement

They need to be lined up as shown.
Because the transmissions output shaft is connected to the wheels directly you may need to rock the truck to get gears to release, be careful, when you do hit Neutral truck call roll away

 

sounds good, thanks! I see the 2 parallel "forks" running front to back? Right now they are aligned with the notches opposite each other so the shifter can engage either one. and if 2 gears engaged at same time how can it run (stuck) in a forward gear?
Thank you so much for replying- I've been worried sick I drove the input shaft into the gear case. I can jack the rear back up to release tension. Have 4x4 block behind front tires (on slight incline). From the last picture, looks like the notches in the forks should not be aligned?

 

To eliminate confusion: I had the truck up on blocks. After bolting the trans to the engine, I depressed the clutch pedal and started the engine. I slowly released the pedal listening for an rpm drop- which would indicate I trashed the trans. Pedal up all the way no rpm change- no bad noises. I got out and looked at the rear tire. It was turning in forward. It wasn't until I went to install the shifter that I discovered it is stuck in one gear. And that is why I will jack the rear to free the wheels. I just took a good look at my "forks?". There are 3 "rails". Looking straight down into the hole, the passenger side one has a notch with a button, the center one has a notch, and the driver's side one also has a notch with a button but it is forward of the other 2 notches & looking to the rear, the driver's side one appears to be either the end of the rail or possibly another notch. Are these things on spring detents? (would explain the loud CLACK I heard) How much force will I expect to apply to the screw driver(to overcome spring detent)? If there are 2 forks, must be the two with the buttons- what is the middle one?

 

I got it! No detent, no resistance! But my neutral position is with all 3 notches aligned- (looking straight down) and the inner shifter stands straight up. The photo at TRS magazine shows the passenger side rail with the notch hidden forward or back. My Driver's side rail notch was forward while the center & Passenger rails were aligned for neutral. So the picture is misleading. I got to imagining how the shifter can move right & left in neutral: the notches would all have to be aligned- Duh - but your accurate diagnosis that the rails were out of alignment was invaluable! Thank you so much!

 

Glad you got it working


Yes, I couldn't find a better picture of the alignment, I would be nice to have one posted.
This issue is not uncommon in clutch or shift bushing replacement

 

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ob7gex1bv...9Nmocc0Da?dl=0

here are 2 pictures. They show the notches with buttons, opposing each other across the notch in the center rail. This is Neutral

 

Great info, thanks