That's great!

Some of those tricks initially worked for me too, including removing the plastic covers and with a small hammer tapping on the housing bottom to free the mechanism. In my case those were temporary solutions and the jamming would reappear, finally immobilizing the car. Not something you'd want to happen other than in the driveway or garage. It's likely not so much the key cylinder tumblers as it is the sliding mechanism that locks the steering column, which will apparently jam as it wears out.

Hope the fix works for you.