So this is a question that could really be discussed for any car, but since it is a Toyota pickup I thought I'd see if other owners have experienced this.

It's a 1987 4 speed. Today while driving my clutch pedal suddenly lost all resistance and just fell all the way to the floor. It was a strange sensation. Kind of similar to when you think that there is one more step at the bottom of a flight of stairs when their really isn't. haha

When the truck is turned off I can still freely shift between all gears without any clutch use. When I start the truck (it still starts fine when the stick is centered in neutral, I have not tried to start it while it's in gear - just doesn't seem like a good idea) it does not want to go into any gear and I have not tried to force it. But when I move it towards reverse it suddenly starts to grind a bit. If I do the same towards any other gear the truck will creep along very very very slowly when I'm on a level surface even though it's not going even close to being fully in gear.

I'm going to be doing more research and the truck is at a garage now, but I'm hoping to get honest opinions from others who are impartial (who aren't expecting big bucks from me for repairs like a garage is) and who maybe have experienced this similar problem.

I guess it basically kind of feels like the clutch is stuck closed. Could this perhaps be as simple as a broken linkage or cord or something in that vein? I'm only semi auto savvy. Also, I've never tried before until now, is it normal for a Toyota pickup to start up when the stick shift is centered in neutral without using the clutch?

Thanks.