johnson 3.5 shifting problems

I have a 2002 Johnson 3.5 outboard 2 stroke that up until this weekend had been running great. Last week I hit something while ideling in some shallow water. I thought it was a shear pin, which has happened before but after checking it was not a shear pin but was the spring clutch. I ordered a new one and put it back together and it worked fine. That day I noticed a couple times it was not wanting to shift into gear. After a couple times of toggling the shifter it would grab. By the end of the night it would take a lot of time to get it into gear if it would go in at all. I have taken it apart and all parts seem to be fine. I checked and put it back together today and now it is stuck in gear. The shifter rod goes down into a hole in the top of the gear box and down into the area the spring clutch and gears are at. When I push the shifter into forward it goes up and when into neutral it goes down and touches the spring clutch. The end appears to be tapered. What is the function of the rod and how does it work? I cannto figure out what it does to figure out how to fix it. It does not appear to grab or pull anything. I have attached a few pictures. The first is in gear and the second is in neutral. There is no reverse on this motor. The other 2 pictures are of the shift rod out of the gear box and the other is of the top of the gear box. IF anyone has any ideas on how to fix this or what is wrong please let me know.
Thanks,
Tyler

Re: johnson 3.5 shifting problems

I can't remember having one of those apart, but by looking at the parts breakdown, does the shifter push on a tab of the spring clutch and tighten it around the prop shaft to make it go into forward?

Re: johnson 3.5 shifting problems

If the shifter is in drive the shifter rod is up so its not pushing on anything that I can tell. When its down it is touching the spring clutch but It doesnt seem to do anything... Thats what has me stumped.