Re: always in forward
Did you pull lower unit over the winter? I had same problem. When reinstalling lower unit the shift shaft must have been moved at some point. My manual says to shift in forward remove lower unit do repairs and reinstall. WRONG. There are a couple posts on this subject with tons of info scroll through that's what led me to my problem. The shift shaft has alot of movement in forward and no play in reverse which is why its better to put the lower unit in reverse set your shifter in reverse and reinstall. At least that is what I did. Again there are some posts that explain how it all works.
Good luck
