Transfer case lever stuck?

Most likely it's just very stiff from 25 years of never being used. The vast majority of Jimny owners never use 4wd, let alone low range. I find most of the old Jimnys I buy are fairly stiff between ranges but get better with regular use.
Two options are give it an un-sympathetic amount of force and hope it moves without breaking anything (maybe check the price of a replacement first though...), or if you're uncomfortable with that idea remove the transfer case, which is not a difficult job, and disassemble it to investigate further.

If you've already gone as far as lifting wheels off the ground it's definitely not a transmission windup issue.

Well mystery solved. Dropped the t-case and it rattled (uh oh). Needle bearing looking bits on the drain plug.

Cracked it all open and lots of gear bits and carnage.

Now since I’ve had it exactly a week (imported it myself) what’s the probability I wrecked it or it was bad and that’s why it was at auction

They are not that delicate as to be able to be killed in a week without you knowing what you are doing is mechanically abusive. Ramming between ranges on the move, trying to do 4x4 donuts in a car park,having one wheel in the air in the rocks and having it make contact at high revs etc kind of thing, you know, abuse.

goofygrin wrote:

Now since I’ve had it exactly a week (imported it myself) what’s the probability I wrecked it or it was bad and that’s why it was at auction

Spilt milk!

About next steps, most of us here are in UK / Europe so Gen3 xfer cases are cheap and plentiful.  But I think Suzuki withdrew the Jimny from the USA market before the Gen3, so it may be harder to find an early Gen3 transfer box for you.

Rather than buying one overseas -- the shipping and customs costs will surprise you, I guarantee -- it might be better to have a go at fixing what you have.  At least, it may be worth getting it all apart to see just what exactly broke, and going from there.  It is a lot less expensive to ship (postal) a gear or selector than (freight) a whole transfer case unit.

Lots of good YouTube videos on the transfer case rebuild process, and if you've done a transmission before it will be very straightforward.  Good luck.

If you're thinking of taking it wheeling 
Look into fitting samurai/sj transfer box