pdr

Hi all, I am reviving an ES300 that was neglected by my Dad. The Gas went bad in the tank and killed the fuel pump and the return line was clogged. That's now fixed an functioning as it should.

Replaced the bulb in the CEL as it was not lighting at all.

Right now I have the intake manifold off and I'm awaiting parts before I reassemble it. I found 3 places for vacuum /air leaks needing repair and 2 fuel injector plug wires that were broken/cut or maybe eaten away by rats or birds or something, I have new plugs with wire tails on order. The engine sounds even during spinning so compression seems good and I did get it to pop a few times on ether before I found the fuel system problems so I presume there is spark.

I"m fairly confident I can make the engine run, and the spark plugs don't show unusual oil burning or signs of coolant leakage, so I'm thinking the engine will be serviceable. The plugs did look a little black which I'm thinking was the vacuum leaks.

Anyway, my question is this. In moving this car around it will roll forward but not backwards. The front wheels spin both ways when off the ground but something in the trans won't let it go backwards even when in neutral. Any ideas what this could be? Locking overdrive maybe? Will it go away once the engine is started?

Thanks for any insights.