98 Impreza Outback Sport Speedometer & Transmission Issu

I purchased my 98 Impreza Outback Sport from a used car dealer in Maine and put almost 4k on it driving it out to LA.
When I hit Nashville, my speedometer became stuck at 40 mph. I soon found out that when driving between 0 and 60 the speedometer usually stays stuck at 40 and when going above sixty, giving the dash a smack right above the speedometer would get it working but slowing down below 60 it will sometimes (but not always) get stuck.
At around the same time this began occurring I noticed that my beloved Subaru was also having difficulty shifting from first and would rev up to 4 and wouldn't not shift until I let off the gas. This seems to be an intermittent problem and since they both began within an hour of each other I'm wondering if these two issues might somehow be related?
This is my first car so I don't really know nearly as much as I should!