Shifting Problems in 40 hp

I have a 40 hp yamaha 2 stroke on my G3 1652. I ran the river all day today and when I got back to the ramp I jumped off to go get the truck. My wife put the boat in reverse and backed away from the bank then proceeded to head towards the trailer. But, the boat wouldn't come out of reverse. If the trottle is all the way foward or all the way backwards it is still in reverse. Even in the neutral position its still in reverse.

So I get back to the house and pull off the cover (like I know what the cornbread i'm lookin at). On the starbord side of the motor there was a loose piece of metal (which is in my hand in the pic.) I also attached a few pics of what it looked like in there.

I understand it is shift linkage I looked in my owners manual and there isn't a diagram of how to put it back together. Does anyone have a book with one in it that they could scan a pic of or a link to a diagram? I think all of the pieces are there and prob. is easy enough to put back together. I just need to know what its suppose to look like.

PS what would cause that to come apart like that? Is it one of those thinks that just happens? I would hope no one is cornbreadin' with my stuff.

here are a few pics:

[boats.net]

The piece you found is a wire stay, it bolts to engine pan and holds main wire harness away from shift cable. The pic shows the shift linkage in neutral(looks ok), if gearcase is still in reverse then to check the shift shaft between engine and gearcase and linkage under carbs.