Saginaw 3-speed manual trans acting funny

[Tantrix]

I recently got my '76 C10 long bed back on the road with the original 250ci and Saginaw 3-speed manual trans in it, and I'm having some problems.

The column shifter was shot, so I converted it over to a floor shifter with a Mr. Gasket 3-speed universal floor shifter (the only thing I could get locally). After about 50 miles or so, I flushed the gear oil out of the trans and topped it off with fresh gear oil.


It drives pretty good, however I'm having some shifting issues. 1st and reverse seem to want to "stick" sometimes. For example, I'm sitting at a red light out of gear, and when it turns green the truck won't want to go into 1st without having to force it, so I just go into 2nd and take off from there. Other times it will act just fine. Also, sometimes when putting the truck into 1st or reverse it will slightly grind a little before going into gear. 2nd and 3rd gears seem to work just fine. I can't quite figure out what it is, so I've narrowed it down to this:


1) Ditch the Mr. Gasket universal shifter and put in a Hurst Mastershift 3-speed floor shifter

2) Take it to a reputable transmission shop and have them take a look at the trans.

3) Take it to a reputable shop and have them look at the clutch.


Anyone have any ideas as to what is going on? Is my transmission dying, is the clutch not working properly, or is it the shifter?


Thanks in advance.