SO, in taking off the shifter plate thing in the car, I noticed something. In my auto, there's two connetion points. One is connected to the wire which pulls in and out when you move the shifter, obviously to tel the tranny what you want. But there's also a little 3 inch piece, with a little loop of metal on the end. On the shifter, there's a hook, but it isn't connected. by their placement, it's pretty clear they're supposed to be...
What is this piece, what does it do, and any thoghts why it wasn't connected?

 

out of curiosity, will the car start in gear (yeah dumb question lol I dont advise trying to find out)

sounds like it could be a wire for the neutral safety switch, if its not connected it probably caused the car to not start at all when it was cuz it was/is bad...my guess.

 

No, I've never tried, and, the battery is totally dead now, so I can't even try...
So what is the netral safety switch? I guess it doesn't matter much, I'm just always interested when I find I've been driving with stuff, especially directly connected to the tranny, unplugged...

 

the neutral safety switch basically keeps the car from turning over while in gear (this is for autos btw, manuals *generally* have a clutch switch) so it only starts in park or neutral. From my training Ive learned GMs neutral safety switches arent the best and are fairly easy to get around (but of course, when thats done the car will start in gear)

 

Hmm, pretty interesting, thanks.