I shift my Bravo 1 into forward and there is a 30+ second delay before the drive actually shifts into gear; in reverse it is instant. Oil seems to be full in drive reservoir. I have spoken to 2 mechanic's, one states that the shifter cable is probably stretched and needs replacement; mechanic #2 thinks its the clutch cone ( quite expensive). It seems like there is more 'lag' when I first start out during the day and when everything is warmed up the lag seems less. Any ideas? Which mechanic should get my business? Thanks for any input.

Well as long as teck #1 knows his way around the inside of the bravo drive and is a merc dealer then you should start with him. Because the cable needs looked at first to make sure it not any thing eles. Have you tryed to push or pull on the cable assy to see if you can get it to go in to gear any sooner?

Pete, do a search for adjusting the shift cable in the tech section.. This has been described before, if it hasnt been deleted due to age. Have to make sure it is centered..
Do a search, see what you can find..

I had a worn out shift fork cause a delay in one direction and no disengaugement in the other unless you went a little past "N". I had the fork "flame sprayed" back to original and sold the boat 100 hours later still working fine. I fixed the fork rather than buying new because a new fork comes with the gear set which was fine. The company that did it said its an acceptable application. They don't recommend the process for direct bearing running surface. On seal surfaces they use ceramic. It never corrodes or grooves.