2004 won't go INTO park
 

2004 F150 automatic transmision.
When selecting the truck into Park it goes into reverse. All the other gears work smoothly and normally (including reverse). The gear indicator (red needle on dash) also works accurately. But when the gear indicator says Park, it is actually in reverse gear. The truck literally drives backwards with the column shifter in Park. As a byproduct, with the truck off, I cannot start it without first selecting the column shifter to Neutral. I found several fixes for pre-2004 trucks, but nothing for 2004-2008 models.

There is no play or looseness in the column shifter. The linkage at the transmission is free of physical interference. When having someone shift through the gears on the column I can clearly see the linkage at the transmission end moving freely, except when going from Park to Reverse or Reverse to Park. Just flinches, instead of the obvious movements between the other gears. Removing the cable from the trans I am able to shift the lever manually into park. While someone shifts through the gears on the column, I can see the disconnected cable moving properly. It "shifts" from First all the way to Park while disconnected from the tranny. And I can manually move the shift lever on the tranny through all the gears too. But when connected together, I can't get into Park. It just flinches, stays in reverse, even the backup lights are on.

I attempted to adjust the cable, but it still won't shift past reverse and into park. Is replacing the cable with a new one worth a try before bringing it to the dealer, or am I barking up the wrong tree now?

Does the shifter feel loose or sloppy?

No looseness at all.
The only difference I note is the way it feels sliding through the gears. From Reverse to Park it glides easier than it did before. As if when going from Drive to Neutral it is going through a detent .... that "detent" is less noticable now between Reverse and Park.

HELP ... edited original post