Just a side note...on the spilled drink...sounds unbelievable...but...

My 4 year old spilled a Wendy's coke I had in there climbing around (sheesh) and didn't say anything, the next day the shifter would not move at all. No matter the force I applied.
That stuff had sat and goobered everything together solid. I wrenched for 15 years and would never think that coke would do this...but it did. Nasty!
Water only is the rule inside the cab, hehe.
I am not saying this is what happened here, but it did happen to me...once!
Good Luck!
Oh, I think you owe us an explanation on why it was towed