My shifter has been feeling super sticky/tough to move lately (I mean not tough, but way harder than it should be) and it hasn't been springing back to the center neutral position when out of gear. (ie it'll stick to the left or right side). Yesterday I cleaned and regreased the under hood bushings and those are fine, and I pull the center console up to check and lubricate any parts there, but it still doesn't return to center. When disconnecting the left-side shift cable (not sure what to call it, the one that responds to left/right movement of the shifter) the shifter springs back as it should, so it's something from that point forward.

This was a ridiculous "fix" most likely, but I put a rubber band wrapped 4 times to get the spring to have enough force to spring it back, but I doubt that will last very long before breaking and it's still not a good shifting feel as it's more resistance now to move the shifter.

So, is there anything else to check or that I can lubricate? When moving the shift linkage at the transmission by hand with the cable disconnected, it seems likely harder than maybe it should, but really I have no idea. Does that part come apart at all for me to check if there is anything that needs to be greased? My only other thought is the shift cables need to be replaced, but that seems like a terrible job threading those through and getting the bolts on the firewall out, so I'd like to avoid it if I can, but maybe that's just what I need to do.