Ford Ranger / B-Series :: Column Shifter Too Hard To Shift Through Gears?

I've been having problems with my column shifter ever since I installed a Pioneer shift cable probably about 3 years now. I was told and also thought that the cable would loosen up after awhile but it never has. I had some put it on and I watched him do it. He seemed to have some trouble because it took him a long time under the dash. It shifts so stiff that over a period of about 2 years it finally broke the end of the shift tube one night. Luckily I was able to fix it the next day by getting a spare without missing any down time. It was still just as stiff with the other shift tube. It finally broke the plastic on my shifter tonight, not necessarily whatever is causing it but because it takes so much effort to shift into Park, Reverse or Drive.

I think the plastic may have cracked over time. Luckily I had another one at home along with another shift tube. I didn't replace the shift tube this time but I did remove the caps and smear some grease on the bushings to see if it would make it turn. I looked further down at the end cap that broke last time and sure enough one of the bolts was backed almost all the way out. I retightened it tonight too. That's what happened when the bottom broke last time. One of those bolts backed out and it cracked the housing. It works now but if you go all the way to 1st to get back to anywhere it really takes a tremendous amount of effort to get it to shift. Something is not right and I cannot pinpoint it. I know they offer brand new shift tubes but I'm not sure if that's the problem.