Transmission Issues - 99' 2.4L Manual

Hi Tacoma lovers, I've got a great little 99 4 cylinder with about 270k miles on it. The thing has been around the block but has been treated great, as far as well can tell. We bought it around 214k miles.

Lately (past 5-6 months) we've experienced some transmission issues. Sometimes, when shifting into 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or reverse (especially from a parked position, 1st or reverse are the worst) the shifter will resist, sometimes very heavily. It doesn't pop out — it just won't go in. Sometimes, you have to shift around a big, pump the clutch, fiddle with the stickshift, then it'll go it. This is an intermittent issue, and it happens mostly on 1st and reverse when first getting in the vehicle.

We took it into the shop. Their first thought was clutch release arm, but then they thought maybe the clutch itself. So they dropped the tranny and replaced the clutch. Slight improvement, but not much. So now they're saying a full tranny rebuild might be needed.

Thought I'd get a second opinion from the good folks here. Any thoughts on this? I was thinking I should tell the mechanics about this: http://www.instructables.com/id/Toyota-Tacoma-manual-transmission-pop-out-of-gear/?ALLSTEPS

But I don't think that is the issue, as it doesn't pop out of gear. Would appreciate any help from this community. Thank you.

 

I would check the clutch master cylinder or slave cylinder. Sounds as if the clutch is not disengaging.