85 jeep cj7 transmission

I recently replaced the clutch on my buddies 85 jeep cj7. It has the t177 transmission and the 4.2 liter l6 engine. He came back, (roughly 500 miles later) and said his transmission wont go into any gear, even with the engine off. He also said that a heavy tool bag was thrown against the side of the shift stick several times. The transmission is in neutral and will not engage any gear. The first thing I did to figure out the issue was pull the shift stick and look inside. All 3 gates were lined up and everything looked normal to me. Next I removed the shift pedestal (like 8 bolts around the shift tower). When I pulled that up, I had to twist it to the side to avoid damaging the reverse fork, I did not damage it at all taking it out. I didn’t see any indication of bending or breakage to the shift forks. I am not a transmission guy so my question is what should I be looking for? What could have been damaged in the shifter to cause this issue, I expected to see something bent. Also, I am positive the issue is not in the geartrain, the collars moved fine when I pushed them with my fingers. I apologize in advance for any incorrect terminology, I dont know to much about transmissions.