Great that you found this awesome site!

Some quick thoughts:

No Reverse, may be a simple problem. The 123 cars are known for the reverse band adjustment bolt backing out of the transmission case. Its on the pass side of the trans, toward the front just above the trans oil pan, can't miss it.

Climate control in-op, may be just a simple vacumn leak. Do the door locks work? If you lock the drivers door from the inside do the other 3 doors lock? Nevre mind that past question, since your locks intermittently work, that is most likely your climate control problem, the ACC relies heavily on the vacumn system being up to par.

Cosmetic stuff, no biggie. The dash cracks on every single car eventually. Paint fade, well, could be a $2000 paint job. Personally I'd live with that!

If there isn't a ton of mileage on the car, its definitley worth fixing. Especially being in FL all its life, there shouldn't be any major rust on the car. Probably worth 2000-3000 bucks, educated guess without seeing the car.

It would be an excellent hobby car, that you shouldn't get too buried in. Even if the trans is bad, you can pick up a used one cheap, post on this forum, someone probably has one. I do!