New to me Honda BF75S shifter stuck

[AEROCOOK]

I just picked up a Honda 7.5 hp BF75S serial # 1705778. I've owned many outboards over the years but this is my first Honda and also my first 4 stroke. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong but I can't seem to get the shift lever to move. Is there a trick to this? Is there a lock out feature that I'm not aware of?
Also, where can I find out what the model year is?
Any help would be dearly appreciated.

 

[AEROCOOK]

Re: New to me Honda BF75S shifter stuck

Well lots of people read my post but I didn't get any answers so I thought I'd just dig into it. I found that the entire contents of the gear case were dry and rusty, obviously the thing was filled with water at some time. In order to determine whether or not it's salvageable, I have to disassemble it which brings me to my next question. How does the vertical shaft that goes through the water pump come out? I tried clamping some vice grips on it and tapping upward with a hammer but it doesn't want to move. I don't want to break anything so I thought I'd better ask.