Slack in steering shaft

Forgive me, I am so confused. The steering shaft doesn't go any where near the steering pump.
If you have a lot of in and out movement (pulling in and out on the steering wheel) the problem is probable in the steering shaft.
One of Chryslers answers to a calapsible steering column for saftey was to make the shaft in two pieces, slide them together and pin them with a type of plastic.
The pins can be destroyed buy jurking on the steering wheel to get it off the shaft. It can be repaired by removing the shaft and repining it.