1996 Mercury 15hp 2-stroke Stuck in "Fwd", will not shift into Neutral or Reverse?

I bought this motor used back in 2006(?) as an auxiliary (kicker) motor for my 23 foot Sea Ox with a Johnson 225 on it.
It came with no directions, however, I used it once or twice back in 2007? The boat has been covered up for 8 years now, since 2008.
This motor is still like BRAND NEW. It has only a few hours on it.
I uncovered the boat after 8 years... the Merc. kicker motor was left in & now stuck in Fwd gear on the hand lever.
I don't remember the procedure for moving the throttle lever into neutral so I can pull on the pull cord?
I rotated the prop at the same time, while trying to get it into Neutral... no luck.
The prop (lower end is not seized) & I managed to pull the pull rope by holding back the mechanism that keeps it from pulling in gear. So motor is not seized either.
I checked all the linkages & everything is like it just came from the factory, all clean with grease on it!
I then started tilting the motor to see if there is a "tilt lock" incorporated with the throttle shifter to release into neutral? again.. no luck
I cannot get the motor tilt to LOCK in the down position, which is what I assume needs to happen for it to be able to shift out of fwd. into neutral to be able to pull the cord? I saw that the pull cord has a linkage in it, so it can only be pulled in neutral?
This must be "operator error"?
I've used outboards my whole life with the side shift mounting location, so this is NEW to me again!
I've looked online for hours trying to find an Operators Manual that I don't have to purchase, for this minor inconvenience.
I even found a thread here, which did not help, as the lower unit has never been removed.
http://www.marineengine.com/boat-fo...996-Mercury-won-t-shift-into-drive-or-reverse
What the heck am I doing wrong? Something I've overlooked, obviously?

You can try unhooking the shift shaft from the base of the power head as your first step.

That will help you determine where the issue lies.

If it's in the lower unit, you will not be able to operate the shift shaft (can grab it with a pair of pliers and try shifting - it moves Up/Down to change gears.

If it works fine then you might have a seized shift cam, a stuck spring (piece of flat spring (metal) locks in to indents on the shift cam to keep it locked in whichever gear you select - supposed to "let go" when you crank the handle to change gears but may have seized up on you. Or your cables may be seized.

So just have to figure out which.

Here's a couple of pics of how/where to find the upper shift shaft connection - it's kinda hidden.



The first pic shows you where to look and the second is what you will see in there. It's "tight" in there. The shaft itself is pinned into the cam by the clip. The cam has a couple of (ears) with the shaft sandwiched in between held in place by a clip. The clip is locked in place in the front and has it's own pin securing the shaft through the cam ears at the back (right side in the pic). You can grab the (left side in the pic) of the clip with needle nosed pliers and just rotate it "upwards" to unhook it - then pull it straight back towards you and clear of the cam (don't lose it)

The shaft will then be disconnected from the shift cam.

If you operate your tiller shifter now the cam should (lock in) to it's three positions "easily" - if not, then you know the issue is up at the power head end of things. If it cycles fine, then it's likely seized down in the lower unit - and that's a different potential can of worms.

But figure out first "which end" is giving you the trouble...

Excellent. Yes I saw the shift shaft and was fiddling with that while turning prop and tiller handle.
I just watched 2 videos on how to disengage the shift shaft (for lower unit removal), so I know what you're talking about & how to remove that clip.
I will proceed next weekend, with your directions.
You are a life saver.
Thanks.
jon

FIXED!!
I removed the clip that holds the shifter rod to the shifter linkage, up by the power head.(accessible from port side... below carb(s).
(Rotate it clockwise, then pull away from motor)



I then grabbed the long stainless steel shift rod, running VERTICAL alongside the leading edge of the lower unit(LU), with some pliers & moved it up and down. It functioned perfectly. So everything appears to be OK in the LU. I even confirmed by rotating prop, and moving flywheel slightly to see prop. directional rotation.
Next I went around to the starboard side of the motor where the shift/throttle linkage assembly's are mounted to the power head.
I still could NOT get the tiller handle to go into NEUTRAL nor REVERSE.
I spied a SQUARE shaft sticking out that appears to be what a MANUAL shift lever would be attached to. This SQUARE shaft is behind a rubber plug (where a manual shift lever would protrude from side of engine.) I removed the black rubber plug.
I put an adjustable wrench on this SQUARE shaft, and rotated it at the same time rotating the tiller controls to neutral and reverse.





It FREED UP with little effort.
So this SQUARE shaft was slightly seized in it's mounting hole! Sprayed a little PB Blaster, hooked everything back up, & I'm good to go!!!
FWIW: IMO, the design for the linkage to function into reverse, is a poor one. The angle of "purchase" for the cable is not at a great pulling angle. Keep water pump grease on everything frequently to keep it moving freely!

A big "THANK YOU" to" galamb" for directing me in the direction I was headed, but spelled it out so simplistically!
Hopefully "AKDAN" will find this post & have it so EASY?
Thanks again, everyone.
(Now, on to my '88 Johnson 225!)