Glad to hear that you got it fixed.

They charged me 4 hours labor for the repair, and the parts were about $105 for the shiftcable and bellows (Merc / Quicksilver parts), and about $6 for the drive seal kit. The shift mechanism was also filled up with water, and the tech indicated that whoever had the drive off before did something wrong: he dissasembled the shift mechanisim and checked it for unusual wear, and found one part he didnt like- he said he had a spare one on the shelf and used that, and did not charge me for it. I dont remember what the part was but it was not the ball-detent thingy (it was a very small minor part he said). With the diagnosis and everything this seems like a fair deal - thoughts ?

Sounds about right for dissasembly/ finding a few probs and fixing.

Thanks- I think I am going to permenantly abandon my old favorite shop and use these guys going forward.