It's a solid rod on the ZForce and easy to adjust however do know that on some, the detents on the shifter handle and the transmission do not line up perfectly. Mine was one. (Thought they fixed this by 2018 but you never know). And mine did the same thing yours is doing. Even after setting the alignment from the N position it would be out of sync by L or P. I had to "Adjust" the shifter detent notches to be wider on P & L so it would work. I used a dremmel. You can eliminate the shifter detent lock by loosening the handle set underneath and screwing the handle down. That pushed the locker away from the detents but..is very dangerous for the transmission as a bump of the shifter handle will knock it into another position. Good to test an alignment problem...bad to leave it that way. First try to adjust the rod so that when you move the shifter into any position and release the button, that the shifter DOES NOT MOVE as the shifter lock sets in place. Watch it closely. If it moves, it's putting pressure on the transmission's detent..which is just a ball and spring on the drum and as the engine is rubber-mounted and will move, it will pop out of gear. Not a great design. Needs to be more movement available in the shifter lock notches for all that engine movement. And no is the answer to your second post. As I recall supposed to lock in all positions...I think.