As it's progressively grown colder (which may or may not be related), my truck has grown all but impossible to shift from park into reverse neutral or drive with the engine running when the truck is cold (just not been driven, it doesn't affect the issue whether I let it idle up to operating temp before trying to shift or try it immediately). I often have to shut the engine off, and once I do it immediately is very easy to shift out of park into neutral, and then I can restart the engine. This is a pain in the butt. Once the truck has been driven some, it's not hard to get out of park, but if it's shut off for some time (an hour maybe) it will be difficult to shift out of park again. I can shift into neutral before I start the truck and then it shifts fine.

​​​​​​Moving the wheel makes no difference, nor does using the parking brake. It typically happens on perfectly flat ground. It feels like there is something in the column mechanically preventing me from shifting out of park.

I don't know how to begin troubleshooting this

 

Brake pedal sensor

 

Brake lights work while this is happening, and that doesn't explain why it happens with truck running but not with it off, right??

 

Solenoid in the steering column that keeps it from releasing until things warm up. Explains somewhat why it works fine warmed up but not cooled down.
you should be able to slide it down into N with the key just slightly ahead but not enough to turn the juice on, if that helps for now.

Take a look at this older thread

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ixed-pics.html

 

That's exactly what I was looking for. I knew there had to be something like that but had no idea where it was or what it was called and searching wasn't working. I found a new Ford one for $40 and its pm its way to my house. Hopefully I'll be able to install it before recruit school starts. Thanks!