In referring to manuals, I am starting to suspect the Shift Lock Actuator.
See if you can do the following.....
I want to know if when you press on the brake you can hear a small click coming from just in front of the Shift Lever. If the actuator is working then you should hear a small click, but very faint.
If you hear the click then it is not the actuator and must be something with the Shift Lever, however if you do not hear the small click, then several things can apply.
Brake lights come on, so that relay is working, which would lead to the wiring harness (image posted in this thread for routing and signaling). This harness also has the Shift Lock Actuator Connector, located on the passenger side of the shift lever, which may have come loose, or worse yet frayed as mentioned by BlackSSR03 in an earlier post, in which case you will need to repair/replace it.
If you decide to open it up, take a look work from the passenger side, as you will direct access to both the actuator and the actuator connector.
I have an image of the passenger side view of the console, and color coded the Actuator and the Actuator Connector pm me with your email, and I'll send it to you, as I can not attach files. (shot from the service manual, and I added color to it)
If you get the console off and see the Actuator, try tapping the brakes again to see if you can see/hear the actuator engage.
I hope that you get this sorted out as there is nothing worse than having a Toy you can't play with simply because you can't get the "ON" switch to work
Also try removing the Shift Lever and see if there is anything affecting it's operation. Easiest thing to try at least!
Look up from the bottom to make sure nothing is in the way of the plunger, as well as test the button on the lever to make sure that you can fully depress it, while it is separated from the Transmission
Hope that this helps in some way.
Cheers,
KamSSR
