Sounds like good advice. So you guys are saying that the slop is fixed from the engine compartment side, and that nothing inside the column needs adjusting.
Usually it's all from the linkage parts and not the column at all, but it wouldn't hurt to have that helper move the lever up and down a little and see just to make sure.
Not a lot of detail to go on there, so it could be anything from a lube problem in the column to a worn synchronizer hubs inside the trans or any combination of the above.
