Pops out of 2nd gear

Ok, so the other night i am driving home from jack in the box and my shifter decides to pop out of 2nd gear into neutral.(manual tranny) It kept on doing it so now i shift from 1st to 3rd. I went to a local shop and the mechanic drove it and of course it didnt pop out of gear for him. As soon as i left there it did it for me. The shifter feels really weird going into 2nd 4th and reverse. I have been told that the shift cable could be bad but i also have been told it could be the syncros. Also one mechanic said that my shifter stem (under the pivot point) could be bent. When i shift into 2nd and 4th it makes a clunk noise from where the shifter stem hits the plastic piece on the shifter itself. I have checked the clutch fluid and tranny fluid and they are both good. Any ideas guys?

is the shifter it self poping out of the 2nd position into neutral, or does the transmission just flare up with the shifter in second?

well it feels like when i shift into 2nd that it is not going into gear all the way. What do you mean by 'flare up'? There is no grinding when going into or out of 2nd gear. To me, it feels like the shifter needs to go a little further for it to be fully in gear.

i'm going to suggest to remove the center console and inspect the bushings that connect the shifter cables to the shifter shaft.

if they are found worn, they cannot be bought seperately from saturn, they only come with the cables. however there is a aftermarket solution - http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51712&;