I have been having a very interesting problem with my 97 F150, I have been having to mess with the gear shiftier position in order to get the truck to start which is indicative of a failing neutral position switch. I was stranded in town when the switch finally decided to give up the ghost. I went to the store and got a new switch, however I did not have the tools to remove the switch while the truck was in town so I unplugged the faulty switch (still on the truck) and plugged the connector into the new switch (not on the truck) and got it to start. After starting I unplugged the new switch and reconnected the old one. I then drove the truck home and removed the old switch and replaced it with the new one. after getting it properly aligned I tried to start the truck with no success. I went so far as to return the switch I had just installed and got another which had the same result, no start. I am at a lose as to what could be causing this issue. If anyone has any ideas or advice it would be greatly appreciated.

 

The switch has to be indexed so the contacts make in Park and Neutral position.
If not the start circuit to the firewall relay will be open for those positions.
It worked once it will work again if the contacts are closed in either of those two positions.
If the switch is indexed too far out you will have transmission shift issues because the same switch provides lead signals back to the PCM to indicate what position you select with the shifter.
Take another look and be sure.
Check the shift cable/rod to be sure there is no issue.
And the arm at the bottom of the steering column inside the cab.
Also check the position indicator in the dash.
Good luck.

 

So update, I took your advice Bluegrass and double checked the shiftier and the switch itself. I placed the truck in neutral and realigned the switch dead on. I still cannot get the truck to fire. I then started checking all the connections. On the connector for the switch I found that the number 12 pin socket looks bad so I am going to replace the plug itself and see if that helps. I will take some pictures this afternoon and post them here to see if maybe I'm missing something. Have to say that this is probably one of the most frustrating repairs I have done in some time as it is usually very simple.