1971 K20 Sloppy Steering Fix/ Help

[smiti7]

Hey guys
I have this 71 K20 that I'm trying to get up and running and I keep fixing small things as money allows. My question is about removing the intermediate steering column. The steering wheel would move about 3-4 " left or right before actually doing anything, so after tons of research on here, I figured out the slack/ slop is from the joint/ connector on top of the intermediate shaft where it connects to the actual steering column spline looking part (closest to the fire wall). Forgive me for not knowing the correct names for these things. Today I removed the nut and bolt that goes through it and tried to collapse it so I can see how to fix/ remove/ repair it, but it wouldn't budge. Do I need to take apart the rag joint down (actually looks like thick rubber) by the gear box in order to remove/ collapse the intermediate shaft? Any low cost recommendations on how to fix this? I'm hoping the spline end of the column isn't stripped. Any info/ suggestions would be great.
Thanks.