Pontiac Repair: Can not get key out f ignition., pontiac grandprix, digital gauge

Question
We bought a 99' Pontiac GrandPrix Gt,I believe it is a V6. The other ay the car broke down and we took it to a mechanic ho said the radiator was shot and also had to change the carborator. The car runs fine except that now the gas gauge doesn't move, but the the digital gauge tells us how many miles we hae lft until we need to fill up again and we can not get the key out of the ignition. We were having problems with the key getting stuck before the car actually broke down, but now we can not get itout at all. Please help.

Answer
Hi
First off, if you have a 1999 Grand Prix, and your mechanic changed the Carburator, I would change mechanics QUICKLY, because there has been NO carburators installed on GM vehicles since the 80's.
Your key problem is PROBABALLY the shifter assembly.
There is a small switch in the shifter that powers an actutor in the column by the key.
When you put car in park, it releases the actuator so the key can be removed.
I would also have the wires checked from the shifter to the actuator, all this close to the shifter gets alot of wear and tear.
I Hope this helps.
Just advice from experience.
Good Luck
Pawl