1970 johnson 33hp. neutral is in wrong position

[waterdan]

HI I just bought a 33hp. johnson 1970 outboard and netural is all the way forward at least at that point I have a free turning prop. IN the othertwo positions the prop is not free turning and when I pull thestarter rope the prop turns in the same direction.The manual says netural is supposed to be in the middle position. The shifter rod is all the way down when it is in the netural position. The rod can't go any farther down just up from that point. when I pull the starter rope the prop turns counter clockwise when looking at it from the front of the boat.
Thanks for any info that may help.
I might add that I ran it in a barrel and the same thing went on netural all the way forward and the other two the prop turned.

[kenJ]

Only 2 things could be wrong. Either the shift linkage is misadjusted or the handle is rotating on the shift linkage shaft. The plastic shift handle on my mid '90s Nissan twisted off recently due to the plastic getting brittle. Replaced it with a home made handle held onto the shaft with hose clamps.