There should be two pins protruding from the transmission case. On the outer one is the shift lever. On the inner one is the combination throttle pressure/Kickdown lever.
I'm assuming the inner one, commonly called the K/D lever is working fine.
If the outer one, the shift lever, is binding even with the shift cable removed, and the lever is not mechanically rubbing on the case; then, I think the NSS needs to be backed off a lil and see if it smartens up. If it does, just put a fatter gasket on it or whatever it takes. If you take it out, expect fluid to come out. But if this fails to solve your problem, and the NSS ball moves in and out smoothly by your thumb,
then, IMO, the ValveBody needs to come down, and the manual valve and/or the "roostercomb" , inspected.
If the shift lever only has trouble coming out of park; that's a different problem. If the vehicle is parked on an incline, the park rod can jam in it's track by virtue of the weight of the vehicle transferring to the driveshaft and from there to the parking pawl. This is normal.
If the shift lever only has trouble going into park, this too is a different problem. The cogs on the parking pawl are fairly far apart and don't always line up. Sometimes the vehicle just needs to roll an inch or two in either direction, and then it jumps in. This too is normal.
But in either case, the shifter should not be seeming to bind or move with difficulty, as that would be ........ a different problem.
