Land Rover Repair: brake switch, land rover discovery, shift linkage

Question
QUESTION: hello,
i have a 98, land rover discovery. the engine turns on, the transmission sounds good, the brake lights work fine. but it is stuck in park and cant get the lever to move. any idea what it could be? and how much it will cost to fix?

ANSWER: Your first step should probably be to fit a new stop switch because there are two sets of contacts on most of them, so the lights could come on but the park lock still not get the release signal.  Next you can look at the shift lever to make sure the mechanism has not jammed or broken.  If you eliminate the switch and lever as the problem by exchange the repair gets a lot more costly as you move into the park lock solenoid or the shift linkage itself.

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QUESTION: how can i tell if the lever is working properly or if its broken?

Answer
If you take the shift knob apart you should be able to see if the button on the knob is pulling the bar to unlock the truck from park.  I can't remember exactly how the 98 sifter comes apart but they are all basically the same.  There is a button on the shift knob that pulls a rod that runs up the metal shift lever.  The rod pulls a catch at the base that lets the truck out of park.  At the same time, there is an electrical solenoid that has to click to free the linkage to move out of park.  That prevents thieves from putting a locked car into park and rolling it away, and it makes sure you are deliberate about shifting into gear because a simple swipe or push on the lever will not put the car into gear by accident.