Have begun the disassembly of the steering column to replace bushings and I've found (I believe) the source of the problem. The centering cone in the lower end of the shift lever is shot. I can move the shift lever in all directions.

Is their a way of replacing this centering cone without removing the entire steering column?

that centering cone does not really center anything. it keeps dirt out.

the bushing that is between the outer column tube and the shift tube is what keeps those two tubes concentric

i haave an article on my website on this

find thelink for technical stuff