I backed out of my driveway and every gear was reverse then when I wanted to go forward to get back into my drive way it was still in reverse even though shifter was in drive. Shifter was hard to put back into park but got it there. I was able to push my car to where it is parked now even though the shifter says its in park... I was dumb and turned key off and now it won't start. So I'm sure it has something to do with the shifter but don't know where to start to get it fixed

Check linkage adjustment going to the PRNDL Sensor, located on top of the transaxle. As the proud owner of a 2000 Ford Taurus, I can say that you need to depress the brake pedal for 5 seconds, prior to easing the gear selector into Reverse. If you force the process, the linkage can be affected.

There are links, under the Sticky, that might help you maintain your Taurus; e.g. how to easily change the rear spark plugs:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/cars-t...ml#post1375876

I can't emphasize enough how important it is to drop and clean the transmission pan, change the filter, and refill with ATF every 30,000 miles. Automatic transmissions are the weak link on most FWD cars. I only use Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF or Amsoil Universal Synthetic ATF in my Taurus' transmission. It greatly improves gas mileage, performance, and shifting. I would also recommend only using full-synthetic 5W-20 engine oil; e.g. Mobil 1.

You probably need to have the shift cable replaced; on the Tauruses, they tend to stretch out and end up snapping if you keep forcing them.