Starter Problems, Stupid Solenoid Options

[Spider77]

So, as in my "what i did today" post....
Started car, and for whatever reason the starter solenoid didnt disengage. Which left my pinion in the start postition, by the way its a horrible noise...all I could think of is broken teeth or burnt windings. I did get the battery disconnected and finally shut the car off (as when i just turned the ignition to the "off" postition the starter kept trying to run). I took my long punch and tapped the solenoid/starter casing and hooked everything back up and it ran fine, and shut off fine as well. My question is this: How much damage do you think is done to the starter and or flexplate (its an auto)? I know its hard to judge without pulling it out and looking at stuff. But it seems to run fine for now. On a side note, I do think I need to adjust my neutral safety switch, sometimes I have to jiggle the shifter to get it started...this just started recently. Does anyone think that these two things might be connected?