One problem related to automatic transmission park/neutral start switch has been reported for the 1998 Mazda 626. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Car fails to enter gear when shifted from park or neutral into drive or reverse, then suddenly lurches into gear. Once in gear, the car fails to shift into higher gears (limiting speed). While moving forward in gear, the car will shift out of gear into neutral or (less frequently) into a lower gear without warning (maximum time in gear before shifting into neutral = 1-1. 5 minutes, usually 30-40 seconds). Sometimes shifting the vehicle to neutral and back to drive or reverse, or turning the engine off and back on, enables the driver to put the car back into gear. If the car is slowed to a stop while in forward or reverse gear, the car will leave gear and stay in neutral.