I dont have a picture but i hope someone can give me some leads.
I find this mushroom in NE indiana at this time of year.

They are yellowish red button mushrooms that grow under hickory trees. They are EXTREMELY slimy with a white spore print. They eventually flatten out to about 3 to 4 inches diameter with a lot of dirt and leaves and little sticks stuck to the caps.
They look kinda like a milky cap without milk.
They may be some sort of wax cap with a very short stem.
The main deal here is it's slimieness. Very very slimy. They will stick to your bag when you try to dump them out.
I find them very delicious to eat. My grandpa always called them "hickory slipperies".

The first thing that comes to mind is a Hygrocybe.

How crowded are the gills?

Try crushing the gills with a fingertip and see if they feel waxy.

Are they growing from the ground or from wood?

Gills are kinda crowded and rather thick and waxy. They always grow from the ground in late fall. If you saw one you would remember it because of the slimieness.