88 Mazda 2200 pickup goes in reverse on ground not in truck :(
 

I have a good friend who has an 88 Mazda 2200 Pickup. I know its not the fancy vehicles listed on here but he wanted to know if there was
some information that could help him and I figured maybe someone on here would know. He puts the shifter in neutral takes it out and puts it
on the ground it gets reverse. Unfornutely when he puts it back in the truck he gets all gears BUT reverse.

Someone who knows the mechanical engineering of these vehicles and can help would be greatly appreciated.