hard shifting into 3rd and no power

[ramblin_cory]

tested a '98 4-banger 2.3 5spd; only has 59,000 original miles on it. everything was going okay until i took it on the interstate. it doesn't have a tach but i'd guess i took it up to 3500-4000 rpm in each gear before i shifted. when i hit 3rd gear it didn't want to go in. i was on the on-ramp so i had to get a little aggressive with it. it finally went in but made a grinding noise (yes the clutch was fully depressed). once it hit 4th gear it had no acceleration. i had the pedal mashed and couldn't get it above 65. after i got off the interstate i continued to have trouble getting it into 3rd. the clutch doesn't feel like its slipping at all and the shifter glides into every other gear.

i was reading the thread about what gear to use when going up hills and thinking shucks, maybe i should have just downshifted it if 2nd goes up to 60, but that i still donno why it had a hard time going into 3rd.

i had an 84 honda civic that did exactly the same thing -- difficulty going into 3rd and maxed out around 60mph. (the honda had some issues with the clutch linkage.) is there any connection between the shifting issue and the acceleration issue? what is likely causing it and should i run the other way from this vehicle? it looks appears maintained apparently belonged to the father-in-law of the guy selling it (he passed away).

thanks for your help all. i'm not a mechanical genius if that's not obvious.