Steering Column Repair: igntion skipping, gear teeth, spring metal

Question
i have a 76 cutlass and am having problems fixing the ignition. I noticed that after replacing a worn out ignition that i cannot get it to work right. The plastic gear on the opposite side of it seems to keep skipping teeth. I have reset the placement a few times and discovered that the metal slide it meshes with keeps pushing down when the knob at the end of its travel hits this slide causing the teeth to skip. how can i prevent this from happening?

Answer
Hi Phil:

First you want to make sure you have the two gears aligned properly.  To do this, I always set the actuator rod in the "ACC" position and then install the black sector gear to match.  There is 1 large tooth that needs to align or you will lose positions.

The only thing that keeps the two gears snug and aligned together is a thin piece of spring metal that rides above the silver rack gear and is inside the plastic case.  This piece is about 2 1/2 inches long by about 1/4 inch wide.  It snaps into the housing and forces the actuator rod to remain spring loaded and in contact with the black sector gear.  The only way to make sure this piece is there is to remove the upper housing and look from the bottom up.  I'm thinking this is much more work than you have already done, but it may have fallen out during your prior work on it.  
Lastly, the black sector gear teeth may have worn (from skipping so much), that they will not hold a position.

Good Luck
Doug