For the last month or so I've noticed that it's getting difficult to move the shifter from P to R. This is on flat ground. All other shifter movements are smooth. Anyone have this problem? Is there a trick to getting the shifter out of Park?

 

I get that same problem at least once a day. Push the brake and pull the lever and if it doesn't come out I'll slide it all the way back to park and try again. It will usually come out on the second try. I did have 1 time though where I couldn't get it out of park for the life of me, tried restarting the truck and everything, that didn't even help. Thankfully it only did this for about 30 seconds, but still.

 

In both of your cases I'm willing to bet that the Shifter Interlock cable is frayed. It's the thingy that connects the shifter to the brake pedal. If the cable does break, you will be stuck in Park. It is easy to replace, any dealer will print off the picture of the steering column that shows where it is located. Not too sure on the current pricing for this item though.

 

I bought my truck used. When I went for the test drive I noticed it was VERY hard to get out of park. I made the sales person make a note of it and said they would get it fixed. Mechanic took a look and said it was the cable and ordered one. When it got in I took my truck back to them, mechanic said the problem was actually the valve body and ordered one (something like 800 units back ordered). About a month later they replaced the valve body and problem went away never to return........so far.

I got lucky and made 'repairing the problem' part of the terms of the sale so it was all replaced on their dime.