50 Mercury OD problem

[Rand]

Hi fellas
A good number of years ago my trans developed a chipped 2nd. gear.
So I took it to a old school mechanic here in Atlanta. He took it apart just to tell me "yep" it has a chipped 2nd gear. It sat in pieces in his garage for many many months while he looked for a gear. I got fed up with him and brought it home in a crate in pieces. I can make somebody a deal on it if anyone is interested?
Anyways...I got another trans and put it in. last weekend I finally got around to wiring up the OD. To just to see how the OD works I wired it up with a fused switch with heavy wire from the power on the starter solenoid to the OD solenoid. When in the driveway I flip the switch and can hear the solenoid kick in and out. So I went for a drive to give it a try? I can hear it click in and out and kinda buck and a clunk but wont engage the OD? I'm afraid that I might do damage so I quit.
Freewheel handle/cable works fine. Could the solenoid be put in wrong? I'm sure hoping that its not something internal? Thoughts?
Thanks Randy