Drivers seat back/recline release locked

[wilecgenius]

Anyone out there ever had a problem with the release lever for reclining the back of the seat not working on the drivers side? I went to adjust it one day, and the release would not work, the plastic handle's connector got stripped and will not grip the metal gear. I have a new handle, I put it on and tried (not too hard) to move the handle to no avail. The plastic handle costs around twenty bucks, so I didn't want to chance stripping that one too. I removed the handle and tried to use a pair of pliers to move the release, but it started to slip so I stopped.

Any ideas on what could be causing this? Or where is there, if any, a release under the seat?

any suggestions would be appreciated. I hope this isn't a replace the entire seat kind of problem.