why wont my shifter work to put in gear

Not sure about your car but most cars use an input from the brake light switch to supply power to activate or release a locking solenoid that would normally prevent you from taking a transmission out of park with out your foot on the brake (for safety). Get a friend to put their foot on the brake and see if the brake lights work if not you could have a bad fuse or bad brake light switch. If you are good at following wiring diagrams Autozone have some popular workshop manuals for free on line once you register (for free) on their website http://bit.ly/autozone_repair_info. There is a company that independent auto repair shops get their information from, this same information is available inexpensively for people that work on their own cars.. The information is year make and model specific, covering repair procedures, torque specifications, fluid capacities and specifications, service bulletins, component locations, wiring diagrams ect.... Alldata is very easy to navigate http://bit.ly/AllData_Repair_Manuals_Online If you need to check fuses look in your owners manual for the applications and location of the fuse box. Check here http://repairpal.com/automobile-owners-manuals-online or try this link you may be able to down load a free copy of the owner's manual for your vehicle http://www.autousermanual.com/