Tranny won't shift into gear. Stuck in neutral!

So I just purchased my 1992 st185 (car doesn't run btw) and was messing around with the shifter. I tried putting the car in first gear and nothing. It stays in neutral, I even tried doing it with the clutch all the way down and nothing. This doesn't just happen with 1st gear, it's happening with all the gears, even reverse. Even when I think I've put it in gear I can move it left and right telling me I'm still in neutral.

What can cause this? Shift linkages? Needs gear oil? Please help, big thanks in advance!

Check that the cables are moving the selector on top of the tranny for starters.

Are you certain you're still in neutral? the plastic/nylon piece on the shifter base has a tendency to wear out and create a lot of side to side play when in gear. my shifter actually has more play in gear than it does in neutral

^ good point, in my GTS, if you put it into 3rd you can move the shifter all the way over to where 1st and 5th are while still in 3rd.

Are you talking about the little ball on the bottom? Or the actual base?

The actual base