Ford Repair: 1997 Ford Taurus 3.0L motor transmission, 1997 ford taurus, ford taurus

Question
My 1997 model Ford Taurus is starting to develop transmission problems.  For about the last three weeks when I put the car in reverse it makes the radio cut out.  The radio does not power off or anything it just cuts out the sound.  When the car is put into drive or park or netrual the radio works fine.  

Yesterday, the car started developing a problem with not shifting into overdrive.  The first three gears shift fine, but it is not allowing the car to shift into OD.  To me this sounds like a senisor or wiring short problem.  Any suggestions?  The car has about 130,000 miles on it.  

Any help would be appreciated.

Answer
Kevin:

Manual lever position (MLP) switch problems.  It may sound strange but yes the radio is affected by mlp as is the transmission shifting issue.  MLP is located on the transmission case and is attached to the shifter cable.  It is one of the easier repairs on the car.

Patrick