Transmission/Torque converter problem?

[TNs13vert]

I have a 94 s13 auto. It has been driving great and had no problems except for yesterday. I backed out of a parking spot, put it in drive, pressed the gas and nothing happened. I even tried to put it back into reverse and still nothing. I put it in drive and managed to barely limp along out of the road and turned the car off and let it sit about 5 minutes. When I turned it back on and put it into drive it went into gear perfectly and drove the rest of the way home fine. What could have happened? It's also making a whining noice coming from the trans since that's happened.

[Kingtal0n]

Make sure the trans is full of fluid, they should be checked fully warmed up on level ground.

check the linkage to make sure it is secure, so the trans can be shifted into each gear and nothing can bend or pop out of place. There is a little bracket on the transmission that moves when you move the shifter in the car, via linkage.

check the torque converter bolts are still there, all of them and tight, there is an inspection hatch you can remove to gain access

check the transmission mount for excess play if nothing else seems wrong (trans can slide on the mount and this could affect the cable, maybe~)

thats about all you can do I think. Its usually a low fluid condition, most commonly, and those couple things I listed, and everything else is "replace the trans" so you hope its just low fluid.
Those trans are dirt cheap though. You should be able to find one for free or $50. I threw about 5 of them away over the last 10 years.