Will the transmission shift into 1st. with the engine stopped? How about double clutching with the vehicle rolling slowly? A draggy clutch won't prevent the gears from engaging with the engine stopped, possibly by pushing the shifter toward the 1st. gear position and bumping the starter pedal. If the gear simply refuses to engage, engine running or stopped, you've got an internal problem, possibly with the spring loaded interlocks in the shift tower that prevent more than one gear getting engaged at once.
Jerry

"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!