I'm in desperate need of some help in AZ, I bought a beautiful 91 4Runner fully aware that it needed transmission work. I'm hoping someone can give me an idea of a good local shop that can do the rebuild at a reasonable price and does quality work?
It's an automatic transmission. Not exactly sure which one though.
The problem is, no forward gears and no reverse gears. Just won't move.

On another note, even an online guide to rebuilding an Automatic Transmission would be helpful just for some troubleshooting tips. Maybe possible it doesn't need a full rebuild?

First thing to do is check and see if it has fluid. It won't move if it doesnt have fluid. If no fluid, see where its leaking. Could have a punctured hose or oil cooler and spit the fluid out. Fix it, fill it back up, and your good.

If it does have fluid, what color is it? Should be red or close to it. If it is brown or black, thats bad, especially if its got metal particles in it. Time for a rebuild.

But if the fluid is clean and clear, you might want to check the linkage. Maybe it's broke. If so, try getting under it and shifting it manually while someone else is in the truck.

Personally, I'd go to the junkyard and get a used tranny for $300 or less. If you want a top quality rebuilt unit, check out www.marlincrawler.com (he might only do manual trannies though)

On these trucks, a tranny rebuild can be all or nothing; Adam pretty well spells that out. There ARE a couple AZ folks in this section; we do also have an AZ crowd down in OT; from our consolidation, mostly Mitsu folks.