shifter sticking

I posted this in the firebird forum, but i'm not getting any responses to it. i have a 97 trans am that the shifter is sticking in park. the only way to get it out is to take the console apart and manually move the lock down. my question is this, is this common? is there an easy fix? i read another post on here, but on that they told the guy to set the brake before parking on slopes. i live in kansas so there are no slopes. the bracket for the lock just isn't moving down far enough to disengage it. help!!!!

also, how do you get the shifter knob off without breaking it???