Shifter wont go into 1st or 2nd

SOURCE: Hard Clutch and 1st and 2nd Gear Shifting is hard

The clutch bearing is supposed to have a groove on the inside where it slides on the shaft That groove is supposed to have a heavy grease applied to it to prevent the bearing running dry on the collar it slides on.Regardless of your driving style, that grease is intended to remain there for the life of the clutch, (generally every clutch I have ever replaced still had some remaining lube there unless the bearing itself failed from a material defect which caused it to overheat and cause that grease to then run out of the retaining groove) I'm not there and can't see the old parts, but in my opinion the first clutch may have failed partially because of your lack of skill in using a stick shift vehicle but the second failure obviously is not your fault if the information you have posted is correct.
Good luck

SOURCE: Tranny problems 03' Dodge Neon sxt 2.0

not sure on the set up of whether its rods or cables on this model for your gear linkages but sounds like one has either detached or broken which should be a relatively easy fix and not too expensive.Get a friend to move through gears while you look under to see whats moving and whats not.

SOURCE: Cannot engage transmission from first to second gear

Hi,
maybe has a broken linkage or the bolt came lose.
Check if you can engage hall the gears pushing the linkage by hand,engine ranning and same one pressing the clutch!that way you can have same idea wath is wrong?!

SOURCE: Transmission hesitates shifting into second and perhaps third gear when driving slow. When acceleration is positive transmission shifts smoothly. Reference "99 Mercury Transmission" as Subject when

Several things could be causing your problem:

1. Auto transmission fluid is low
2. Auto transmission fluid needs changing; this is an area that gets neglected by a lot of people;check the fluid and if its brown or gives off a burning smell, it needs changing. Very old transmission fluid will cause slipping in the transmission; if this is the case, it should be changed along with the filter

SOURCE: 2002 Saturn SL1 - Losing reverse and second gear

The simple answer is that there are two loose nuts in the transmission.

The output shaft nuts are loose. The are behind a cover that you can see through the driver's side wheel well.