It was a beautiful evening to go for a cruise in the old car

[MadMan]

So with the linkage removed from the transmission, you're not able to turn the lever anywhere but park and reverse? You mean the lever gets physically stuck, and will turn no further than reverse? Very strange. Should not have anything to do with bands or servos, as the shifter lever has no mechanical linkage to them. Do not attempt to adjust your bands. You'd only be causing more problems. For the lever to get stuck on something, it would have to be the parking pawl or manual valve or the rooster head is broken or something. Very odd. There is also the possibility that the shifter shaft is so dried up that it gets stuck. It's been a while since I've been in one of these transmissions.