Those were some helpfull articles. I think a better way to describe what is happening is that there seems to be excessive play in the shifter/shifting forks/rods connecting them. I never have trouble with grinding just finding. If I drive the truck for a few hours I know just where to shift and have flawless shifting all day long. Thanks for the help and all the replies. I understand now that I do need to pull it and take it apart to have a look inside.

Any idea what kind of hard parts availablilty I'm looking at for this old tranny?

Thanks again

Dusty