Merc 7.5 won't go into gear

[silverhairbp]

Electric start engine was hanging off the boat all winter out of the water. Started OK after a while, ran good.

Tried to put the motor in gear, but it would not engage. The shift lever on the side was moving forward and backward, but would not engage. Stayed in neutral.

[boats.net]

Check all linkage to see if broken. pull lower unit and try shifting at lower unit.