1996 Saturn SL won’t shift out of first

I bought a 1996 saturn SL2 for $300. I did know it needed a transmission. The previous owner said he had put 2 transmission in the car and it’s does the same thing. When you drive it, it won’t shift out of first. we drove it about 10 miles and I think it shift maybe a couple times out of first but hard. The previous owner has a lot of wires that are either unplugged or cut. What can I do?

I see you spending a ton of money on this thing and maybe not solving all the problems. I can’t tell if you have replaced the transmission or not.

Do the wires have anything to do with the transmission?

Stick shift or auto?