99 z24 5 Speed shift linkage stuck

I have a 99 z-24, the shifter would move up and down say from 1-2 or 3-4 but going across the H sided to side to go from 2-3 or from N to R it will not move. I broke the cable trying to show my wife on the transmission where the plunger going into the trannie would turn but not go up and down to change the gear position. is this a stuck line or a transmission problem and how much will I be out to fix it?

bad shift cables are a possibility

I had to muscle the hell out of the thing to get it to go side to side, then at a light when taking off i had to hit the shifter to get it to move over to third and fourth. (you know these never happen close to home.) is is possible for a cable to make shifting that hard? the Rod does not seem to want to move up and down, but that could just be lack leverage, but it did slip in and out of gear easliy enough when just moving the second cable by hand.:banghead: