I have a 1993 f-250 u have to manually shift to 1st to take off shift to 2nd and still in 1st gear. Shift to overdrive and transmission will shift through 2nd 3rd 4th and then to overdrive with no problem. When u stop vehicle transmission stays in high gear and u have to manually shift to first and start over.

Solenoids inside the transmission or the control module.

Transmission control selonoid faulty

You lost your 2-4 and that is normally the Band or Drum

You can put the shifter in 2, 3, or overdrive. It will still start in first and shift up to whatever gear you have selected. Try it, you wont damage anythingl

sounds like the transmission is going out or messing up, could be low on transmission fluid too

a manual transmission or transaxle,if it say, selected shift only works means the problem are the synchronizer of each shift. if mentioned, it was automatic transaxle, the problem is the cluch pack. full down then disassemble the transmission and examine each part for wears. out of spec clearances means problem.

it may be a bad transmission modulator valve located on the side of your transmission,vacum operated. a sudden downshift or forward shift when unexpected is sign of a bad modulator valve or a vacum leak to the transmission.best to shop around for a garage w/references when it comes to transmission work though. check all the vacum lines to your transmision,you need to look on the underneath side of your truck on the side of transmission for a loose or disconnected vacum line on the side of the transmission. when you feel the vacum line,follow it to the top of engine,the vacum line is about 3/8th line,and may be disconnected or losing air. to make this short,when you drive the car,start out in low gear and shift the transmission,manually from 1st to 2nd to 3rd does it do right with no slipping? if it does this right and shifts great manually,the modulator valve on the side of the transmissions bad,or a bad vacum leak in-between.thank you for choosing fixya.com

I don't have the shifting schematics for THIS vehicle .
However, they are available in the vehicle's repair manual. If you obtain this manual look for what is common between 2nd gear, final drive and overdrive this is your problem.
Remember they source of the problem may require a rebuild of the transmission. You may want to save some time and just give it to a repair shop.

You most likely have a broken sunshell inside the transmission. They tend to go out when the transmission is shifted to drive when while still rolling in reverse.

The blinking overdrive button is telling u that a serious fault has occurred in the electronic controls or a mechanical fault such as excess slippage is occurring.