I have a 2002 F250 AT 4WD. It is acting a lil' funky with shift/gear indicator.

There seems to be a lot 'slop' with column shift lever. In D,,, the indicator is to the far right of the D,, you can free move it to the right side of N. Maybe not a big deal,, but at times it is hard to find drive and even reverse,, you have to rock the shifter back and forth to find sweet spot. I do plow some snow, not much but some,, so the shifter/linkage has more than the 69000 miles on it. So,,,, could it be sloppy linkage,,, there seems to a small lever or pivot at the bottom of steering column,,,, could that be worn ???? Maybe just order one of those,, can't hurt to replace it ???????

Once in gear [ r or d ] all seems fine,, no herky jerky,,, moans or groans,, or slow or sluggish shifting,,,,, r and d are just hard to dial in ,,,,,, Any ideas ???