I have a 99 ford 4.2l v6 with a manual 5 speed. Was wondering what would cause the trans to be hard to go into first gear? It's hard to put it back in first when you come to a stop and you have to go into a diff gear then to first. It also feels weard going into third. The truck has 200k on it and is on the second clutch?

 

Your shift forks are most likely worn on the edges making shifting into 1st very difficult without going into 3 or 4th first. The forks are made of aluminum alloy and really wear the edges off. That would certainly be my first place to check. M5's also have a ball seat that centers the shifter and keep things in alignment. It might be there, but it is 99% of the time, the forks. If you remove the center hump cover, then the transmission top cover (10-12 bolts), you will see the forks attached under the cover. They can be easily changed but they tend to cost about 130-180 for the set of 2.

I hope I'm wrong, but with over 100 of those trans in our shop in the past, I'd say that is the place to start. Good luck