In my excitement getting started with zcash i used Shapeshift to transfer coins into my account. Like an idiot, i used my zt address and the transaction went through. Now unable to find those coins. Any assistance would be appreciated.
you used t_address to deposit zcash into your wallet? So, what is the problem? We have been using t_address for deposit from the pool and that has worked. Maybe blockchain on your machine needs to catch up before you see any transactions.
use ./src/zcash-cli z_getbalance “$ZADDR”
on the destination account. The funds won’t show using getinfo because they are shielded.
It shouldn’t be possible to do, because the testnet z-addrs aren’t usable on mainnet. Sounds like a Shapeshift bug.
Note that I’ve never used Shapeshift, so I don’t know how it works.
That’s like saying you’ve never riden a bicycle. 
I’m not familiar with shareshift but maybe this would work.
(1) dump private key of addr in testnet.
(2) import that private key to mainnet zcash.
(3) check the balance.
Not sure it works or not, but better try it if btc amount is large.