I have a 1994 F150 5.0 E4od 4x4 174000 miles that will not shift in drive, when you manually go through the gears it is fine up until drive it stays in 3rd gear. I replaced a fuse because the speedometer and odometer were not working and it shifted fine for the 1st couple down and backs down the road I live on. When you launch in drive it won't move until 1500 rpms
Sounds like your transmission may be starting to slip. Not unheard of for a Ford with 174k miles.
Not the answer I was hoping for lol. My thinking was shift solenoid, would it be worth rebuilding or buying new. and if so rebuilding it, should I take a stab at it myself? I'm the the most experienced mechanic .
Have it diagnosed by a transmission specialist. If it does need rebuilt, don't use the same transmission. Order one that has a 100k mile or so warranty and install that one. I had my transmission rebuilt and the "mechanics" couldn't figure out why it shifts hard sometimes. They made millions of those things. I'm sure there's an aftermarket remanufacturer who specializes in remanufactured transmissions. That's a computer controlled transmission.