Thanks again Art - and the pic of the real parts taken apart is a big help!

I was able to get my fingers down underneath the solenoid and suddenly the mechanism all released for me- not sure what I did I was just trying to feel around and all of a sudden it all freed up. I'm going to lube it up with graphite real good and use it as is for a while!

Now that it's moving I can see that the part labeled 10b is hinged to the main shifter "frame" at the top and has a hook on the top end and a 90 degree bend with a slot at the other. The hook end is what interacts with the shifter lever and button, and the end with the 90 degree bend and slot is what interacts with the solenoid.

For some reason, now when I return my lever to the Park position the button is remaining depressed and part 10b is also staying in the lowered position. I'm fine with that as it keeps me from being locked out of gear like it was before, but it does also mean that the shift lever is not locked into Park and could I guess get jarred into gear unintentionally when parked.

I'm not sure what is supposed to raise part 10b and the button mechanism back up when it goes into Park - the only spring I find is the one under the button and that seems fine but is not raising the mechanism on mine.

In any case, I am supposing that cutting the right angle and the slot off the end of part 10b would take the solenoid out of the works but still keep the rest of the shifter functioning properly. guess I'll look for a shifter my next trip to the JY to experiment on.

Jim