More to the Shifting Saga

[MikeIIDC@domain.elided]

Okay, Okay!!!  Put on your laughing caps for this one, guys!

I just came in from playing with my gearshift problems, and it is
fixed!!!  Whooohhhooooo!!!

I don't have any idea why!!!!!  Whhhooooohhooooooo!!!!

I tried it right before beginning to unconnect everything to see what
was going wrong.  It would shift into gear very smoothly, but would not
engage the gear when the clutch was released.  I crawled underneath the
dash, to play with the clutch linkage under there.  Well, turns out that
the cotter pin was rusted into the slide on post for the clutch pedal,
which at its other end has the threaded attachment to the post that goes
directly into the master cylinder.  I tried to pry the pin out from the
bottom, after straightening the two "legs" that are splayed on the other
side of the hole.  Not much budge, so I tried to push down the "legs"
from the top.  No budge.  I tried to make sure they were better aligned
and push from the top again-my pressure slid off to the side, bending,
then breaking the ends of the pins off.  No problem!  Now it will be
easier to pull the pin out.  Try to pull from the bottom, snap!  The
bottom breaks off!  Try to push out from underneath with the use of a
punch.  Won't budge, and the target is so small and the working quarters
so cramped that it is hard to even hit it.

QUESTION #1:  Has anyone else ever had a cotter pin rust into a hole
like this?  I have never heard of that, but figure it must happen.

And there is just enough of a "spur" on each side of the thing, that the
slide-off post will NOT slide off, no matter how much I encourage it
with a pry bar up against the steering column!

So anyway, I lay there trying to remain calm, trying to figure out
another way to get this system loosened.  I fell asleep, lying on my
back on the bench seat, shoulders half on the seat, half on the floor,
head nestled kind of on the floor with some support from the brake and
clutch pedals.

Upon awaking, and feeling slightly rejuvenated, I looked under the truck
to try to find some manner of adjustment on the tranny as I was asking
about earlier.  Found nothing that way, except for two open rubber
hoses, about 5/16" diameter (About the size of gas line) that come from
the bottom of my AC, through the floor, and both left open-ended hanging
through the floor.

QUESTION #2:  What are these all about?!?!?  I have two regular
high-pressure type hoses coming from my compressor and one goes into the
firewall, the other goes to the condensor mounted in front of the
radiator on the other side.  The outlet tube from this then goes out,
through the engine compartment, and back tot the firewall.  These both
go into the AC unit under the dash.  Are these hoses simply attached to
the two low points in the AC unit to allow extra moisture that has
formed to leak out?

After looking at the slave cylinder, and seeing that the linkage system
here has another one of the screw-in and out tightening and loosening
linkages on the push rod that enters the tranny to disengage/engage the
clutch, I supposed that this is the way to adjust the clutch engagement
"on the tranny" as the prior owner had tried to assure me that there
was.

QUESTION #3:  Is this most likely the only way to adjust this pedal-play
besides the link-up on the pedal?

And last, the big one:  I could not get the turn-screw system on either
of these linkages to turn very easily, and didn't want to force them, as
their age and appearance made me think they may be seized-if a cotter
pin can do it to me, a 3/8" threaded rod could really stump me-so I
decided to take the shift lever system apart again, and see if things
were working.  I loosened the four screws that hold the dust cover and
trim ring down, then started it up to watch how the "ball" seemed to
move in the "socket" around the shift lever while I shifted it.  It went
into gear and I let out on the clutch-it moved!
By removing the hood and trim ring, the thing now goes into gear
repeatedly, and moves when I release the clutch.

QUESTION #4:   Is there any way on earth that this makes any sense
whatsoever?!?!?!?

I did absolutely nothing else!  I cannot figure it out!  Won't engage in
gear, remove hood-moves in gear.  I'm completely at a loss!  I checked
it right before removing the hood.  Any ideas, or strange coincidence!

Thanks!

Michael