I took the LeSabre to get gas tonight, and it was running fine. After I got my gas and paid, I get in and it fires right up. Then I shifted out of P. As soon as reverse engaged, the car died. Just died, everything. Interior lights, everyything, basically it faked a completely dead battery. I fiddled with the battery and alternator quickly, to maike sure everything was hooked up, then called to get a jump. Out of curiosity, I got back in and went to put the car into neutral, to make sure I'd be able to get it out from in front of the gas pump. Hark! As soon as I put it into reverse, all the lights came alive, the clock returned, and everything seemed right with the world. Hopeful, yet wary, I started the engine and slowly reached for the shifter. It idles normally in P, first step-R-everything remained a go, next to N, everything is still fine, then finally to D. Drive engages, ITS ALIVE!!!! It drove home just fine, everything was as it should have been.

It's a column shift, right? My guess is you have a bad connection somewhere in the column where the wires are agitated by moving the shifter. You probably have to take the column apart and make sure the wires are OK (no bad insulation) and connected solidly with no corrosion.

Neutral safety switch?

Did it again yesterday, I tightened the + cable on the battery and its worked fine since.

I had that with the Bonneville once Satty. Tightening the battery connections solved it. Not to mention cleaning them.

one neccessary evil (very minor inconveniance) is that

when you buy an old beater you need to be very

thorough in cleaning the contacts on the battery & even

more so the cables (terminal cap or screw).

Side-terminal batteries agrevate me so much, esp. on

modern GM cars the my 1997 STS where there was

litteraly 3/4" more cable than absolutely neccessary,

so it had me swearing up a storm and left my hands all

cut up & bloody everytime I needed to do ANYTHING to

the battery, so now I often times convert newer GMs to

top-post.

modern =/= better