57 Chevy shifting issue

[TwoFiftyShifter]

We've been having an issue with our '57 3100 for ahile now. It's a 235 with a 3 on the tree, and it doesn't shift correctly. 2-3 works great, but the 1st-R gate is difficult to get into, takes two hands to pull it up into 1st/Reverse. It's odd, some days it works pretty well, some days it forces me to just put it in 2nd and slip the clutch at a stop light. What could be the problem?

Also, the brake lights have stopped working out of the blue, bulbs are fine becuase the tail lights work..... Where should I troubleshoot the break lights? At the pedal?

[dwcsr]

bad pilot bearing, Broken Throw out collar, bad clutch hub, worn input shaft.

It sounds like the clucth is not disengaging properly. All of the above can cause this to happen.

This transmission has a 2-3 syncro that the 1st revesre slides on. You may have an issue there. But first make sure the clutch and shift linkage is adjusted as per the shop manual.