You guys nailed it,turned my thinking around. Shifter was slightly out of adjustment one rod took 2 turns another took 1. And going back through my records it had 85W140
synthetic gear
oil recommended by Dan Williams in a 1996 instruction sheet, I also have another sheet from him undated recommending conventional
oil. Had a hard time finding GL4 85W90 conventional
oil but finally did and it shifts like butter. Thanks to all