Why would a 1998 Mercury Tracer LS NOT be able to shift out of park?

I'm not a mechanic, but I had this happen once. The transmission was shot.

I think you should have a look around at these sites, maybe this will help. Seems that the Mercury is not a very reliable car. Scroll down to the recall models http://www.automallusa.net/2000/mercury/sable/recalls.html and http://www.americascarshow.com/forum/questions/ there are some good q and a's there. Hope this helps you a bit! Good luck!