Stuck in fwd gear

[gofishen2@comcast.net]

I have a 2005 25hp 4 stroke efi Big Foot well maintained with new remote and steering cables. I was fishing last weekend boat ran fine all day bombed up to the slot to do one last evening troll as I was coming up on the zone still full throttle the motor just died no warning no sputter it was like I hit the kill switch put in natural and went to pull start it and couldn't pull the rope it was like it seized up I could move the shifter and watch the linkage move forward and revivers after messing with the shifter I did get it to turn over once but never could get it to turn over again, couldn't pull the rope after getting it back to shore the prop never spun freely or easily no matter what position the shifter was in nor did it not spin. in other words I could never get the prop to fully engage nor spin freely like it should in natural the shift cable looks to be in good shape no cracks on the attachment end or wear. I'm not sure as to what the issue could be. All fluids are good oil, gear lube and can watch the linkage work the shifter back and forth with ease. Motor was running at 5300 rpm's and just quit. haven't had much time to fiddle with it this week and don't want to drop the lower end for on the Big Foot it can be challenging to put it back together by yourself if you've ever had the pleasure of changing the water impeller. I'll never do it again I'll pay the 150 and let someone else that does it for a living. I don't think its something like the dog clutch any ideas or direction to start. I've had the boat out a few weekends and trolled for approx 16 hrs per weekend with no issues. it is definitely stuck in gear and won't stay in neutral. is the a way to bypass neutral sensor? Any and all thoughts would be highly appreciated. Thanks
gofishen2