a833 problem

Ok so here it is at first to get the car in 1st I had to shift from 2nd to 1st. now its damn near hard to get into first from second. I also have to put it in 3rd to get it to shift back into reverse. And lastly if I shift to third and press up a little 2 hard it grinds a little. I know it needs a throw out bearing so I'm just going to buy a clutch kit. Could the shift linkages be bent causing the problems or does it sound like some other issue.