2004 Grand Am ignition switch and shift knob

This is on my brother-in-laws 2004 Grand Am SE V6 auto trans. First, the shift knob button broke and he couldn't get it out of park. Tow truck operator did something under the hood so he could get it into neutral and leave the key in ignition and start the car and put into drive. I'm guessing the guy disconnected the cable off of the trans and manually shifted it and connected the cable. So, we put on a new shift knob and now we can shift the trans. Now, the key won't return to the 'OFF' position (looks like the car is still in 'ACC' position but turned to 'OFF') and you can pull the key out. I think the ignition cylinder is bad. We tried to start the car, it will turn over but not start. We went though the Passlock reprogram info (found here by searching) and it still won't start. I'm hoping the two problems are just coincidence and not related. How easy is it remove the lock cylinder, have the dealer rekey the new one and install? I have the radio bezel off and I can see 2 bolts which hold the switch. Do I have to remove anything else? Thanks for the help.

Probley dont have the shift cable adjusted right.

First disconnect the cable from the trans and move the shift lever on the trans into neutral by moving it two positions from park-rev.-neutral. Move the shifter on the console to nuetral.
Now pull up on the cable adjuster tab on the top of the trans then connect it back to the manual shift lever.

To adjust the cable, set the parking brake put the shifter in park.
Turn the key to lock.
Remove the shifter knob and the top of the console. Pry up on the locking tab on the cable connector at the lever.
This should release the cable.
The adjuster is spring loaded and should the slack automaticly.

If that doesnt do it then the igntion switch is most liky your culprit. Thier are directions for this in the Tips and Maintenance sub forum.

Good Luck