I have a 04 Mercury 25 tiller steer. I recently replaced the water impeller and put it back together. When I reattached the shift rod it all seemed right but now when I put it in forward the motor goes in reverse. If I twist it to reverse it binds and doesn't go into it. Neutral position in between allows me to crank it (and doesn't spin). I figure the handle was either in forward of reverse and it shouldn't have been before I put the shift linkage clip back in the shift rod but I'm not sure it would go back together wrong. Am I overlooking something or do I just need to disassemble it and reconnect correctly?

Your shift shaft has jumped past reverse. You will have to find neutral and hold the splined shift rod in place with some needle nose vise grips until it goes into the shift shaft. It helps a lot to have a support for the lower unit like a folding metal chair.

Thanks Gary. That makes sense. It would have taken me a while to figure that out.