The steering column is incorporated into the steering gear box, so if the "column" was changed, it was an assembly that was changed.
The AD (47-55/1st) steering box is not the same as the TF 55/2nd-56. The 57-59 is 4" shorter than the 55-56. It could be that you have a unit from a 4 speed truck that was not set up for a column shift.
You could also have a mixture of shifter parts that are not compatable. Try to look at one that works correctly and see if you can see any differences.
Fred
