Car has been fine for two years, nothing major. Last Saturday, after driving around fine, I stop the car the get some milk, and when i get back in; nothing.
Turn the key everything seems normal, lights light up, dome light comes on , but the starter is dead. Wont make a sound. When I turn the key to start i notice the dome light doesn't even dim at all. It is acting like it thinks it is in gear. I wiggle the shifter but nothing.
The car was towed to my local shop, but they have not started to work on it yet.

before they screw it up, anyone have an idea where i could point them to look?

Hello, Here's one idea. If the PNP switch is bad (broken, dirty) it'll act as you say-as if it's in gear. Rowing the gear selector 10 times has been reported to clean the contacts enough for the car to start. One fellow opened his up and cleaned it completely. He posted pics too.
IF the starter is bad you can combine that job with a PCV hose and breather box replacement.
How many miles on your 1999? Kira

The car has 200K. The shop replaced the starter and seems to have fixed the problem. He thinks the starter was original to the vehicle. One strange thing, after the install and start of the car, the check engine light was on and the up-shift arrow was blinking. This was not the case when I brought it in. Anyway, he checked the codes and there were 4 all transmission related. The car runs fine and he cleared the codes and they have not returned. I hope it is just an electrical glitch and not something bad.

JM