1987 SE 2.8 5 Spd Muncie, I have been having a hard time with the gate on my shifter (select cable) being very stiff for a few months now. At one point the transmission was very low on oil, the car has 278K miles. I changed the transmission oil this morning and did my running around. The shift gate seemed to get a bit easier as I drove. Then I stopped to parallel park, I slapped the shifter to the side to put it in reverse and the shifter went limp. I was still able to use gears 1 through 4 but not reverse or fifth gear. I brought the car home and pulled off the console to inspect the shifter and cables. They appear to be fine, and they appear to be fine under the hood. Any ideas, does this mean I have internal transmission issues.
Thanks in advance for any help.

278K miles!!?? Your car should get a trophy!

I just replaced my shift and select cables, and the select (side to side) cable was slow and gummy, while the shift cable was fine. I have been pushing too hard for a while to get it into reverse, and I can see where that may cause more damage....maybe the connection slipped a bit on the transmission and it is now out of adjustment. Get a new select cable from Rodney, and test the shifter at the transmission, but I suspect the internals are fine.

Yes, get Rodney's select cable. Mine was still working but it took increasing effort. It started acting this way after a long road trip which I attribute to heat soak. The factory heat wrap was all tattered and I think the heat fused the cable to the sleeve. I tried moving the cable further away from the exhaust and that gave me temporary success. Additional forced shifts then kinked the cable making shifting even worse.

If it went limp and the shifter moves from side to side without any effort that means your kinked cable finally broke somewhere between the firewall and the transmission. When you get a new cable installed, it will be very similar to its current condition but working again!

Expect to spend at least 2 hours unless you have some help. You will need to remove the console, armrest, unbolt the back part of the plastic skeleton. Engine bay you will need to remove the intake hose to view the backside to route the new cable. You also need to reuse the existing rubber grommet from the old cable by cutting it on the side and sliding it off. I fused mine back together with super glue.

Thanks , you both are right the select cable was broken, a new one is on the way.