Sounds like you got a different shifter tho, 88-91 truck? Yours move like the one on the transmission, front-back to select mode and range and left-right to clear the safety gates preventing you from sliding from 2wd right into neutral or 4x4 low range. The OP has the next gen shifter, that also moves front-back like yours, but to clear the gates you gotta push the SOB down on the shaft. It's the dumbest idea ever IMHO, you're supposed to push down while at the same time pulling back which depending on your height very well may end up pulling up also. And the abortion is also aluminum bodied, so the moment it sees moisture under the boots corrosion sets in which usually locks the up-down motion of it thus allowing you only 2wd and 4x4 high range. The OP has a more extreme case where it seems like even his pivot is seized up - if that were to happen to you you can heat yours up with a torch and it will melt the plastic bushing but it will free up, in his case he can easily melt the whole works if he gets a bit carried away with an oxy-acetylene setup. And yeah, what you got is better in any way I can think of, why Ford ever switch to that newer POS never quite made sense to me