[njsteve]

Well it looks like it was right about being wrong.

After finally getting the bellhousing mounted bracket installed (after completely removing the clutch cross shaft) and then reinstalling the clutch cross shaft and then the shifter/column interlock cross shaft, I could see that I had identified the wrong end of the linkage arm as the one that engages the column lever.

One of the problems you run into when referencing factory "catch-all" diagrams is that they don't show all the possible permutations of the parts. Nowhere in the books do they show a diagram with both the clutch cross shaft bracketry and column lock out bracketry combined into one picture. And the linkage arms they show aren't necessarily in the right position in real life as in the diagram - the "flipped" arm being a prime example. If I tried to install it in the orientation shown in the diagram, (with the small end up), it runs right into the clutch cross shaft and never reaches its corresponding mounting arm.

So, once I got the lever flipped over, I could see the longer "nub" would actually clear a regular grommet and sleeve on the lever. So I got that all installed using some old GM grommet and it works great. You place the shifter in reverse and turn the key off and remove it, and the column locks the shifter in the reverse location. Until the key is turned to the run position, the shifter will not be operable.

So now I guess I can hunt down the Mopar factory 1553304 grommet and 1553305 sleeve in order to be "matching part number correct."