I found the problem on my own. The leads to the oxygen sensors where reversed when put back together. Easy to do since my Ranger has 2.
Since you changed your battery and starter I'm assuming you are getting fuel and spark is your problem. You should check your starter relay, the wires from the relay to your starter, the wires from your battery to the relay, the wires from your locking cylinder to the relay, and your locking cylinder. You might also check your alternator. You can take it to a parts store to have it bench tested for free.
Loose or corroded connections or the battery has a dead cell and will not accept a charge and must be replaced.
So how does "the wrong battery" affect the shift selector. I presume you replaced the battery. If it fit the holder and was hooked up correctly, how would that keep you from shifting out of park? I know this is an electro/mechanical set up. If the battery is fully charged and putting out rated voltage,there is something else going on or I am not getting the whole picture.
The alternator is not charging the battery, therefore, the coil is getting it's charge only from the battery.
You need to get the battery in the game cartridge replaced. Most gamestops will do it for you.
you may have a bad battery or a bad voltage regulator
my guess from what you said is that either the battery or alt. is getting weak battery and alternater replaced less than 4000 miles
This particular battery is advertised as being very long-lived. If you are having problems getting it to hold a charge, it may be faulty and need to be replaced.
I don't think the computer not getting electricity will hurt it.
Dry cylinder has 2 definition 1 no fuel is getting to the cylinder 2 no oil getting to it
the starter isn't getting power or the battery is dead. do some tracing of the power and see where it isn't getting juice
Low battery - not enough power to crank all the way over or, Fuel pump needs to be replaced, not getting fuel into the engine.