not with a total failure no. if the sprag fails theres no way of locking one of the parts of the planetry, From memory (And I dont have the books in front of me) a total sprag failure will let you have reverse and first but it wont shift up what your describing is more symptomatic of a G2 oil pressure problem which can result from a clogged oil gallery, leaking/sticking balance valve or "slipping" of the g2 pump. locking it in first makes it all work by forcing everything to work and once you have some g2 pressure it will generally come good again.
for a work up on whats happening with the theory side of all the bits and pieces that go into the average auto check
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/technical-...nsmission-2tml
If theres something not asked feel free to ask or pm