Focus,
I'm not a 'three on the tree' expert, but have seen the detents and bushings in the actual transmission sidecover go to heck in a hand basket. Regardless of all the splashing gear lube, this can make the vehicle hard to shift.
If you disconnect all the shift linkage from the transmission, you should be able to single out the problem...either the shift box and related bushings or the transmission sidecover and its mechanicals.
I remember a post awhile back where a sticky shift problem with a column shift was actually a worn support or bearing right up on top of the column, under the shift handle itself. Good luck.
Stuart
