Loose Shifter

["T. Neal" <boxorayn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Howdy All -
Is it normal for my shifter to have a lot of freeplay while in gear? 
Lately it seems like there is more looseness and freeplay than usual.  For
example, when I move the shifter up into 1st gear, it goes into gear just
fine (no grinding or anything) but once it is in and I let go, the thing
just seems to fall loosely to the side - while in gear, there is so much
freeplay that it seems like I can move the shifter more than 6 inches to
either side.  The same is true for the three other gears: all engage
smoothly, but the shifter just seems so loose in there once engaged that
sometimes I feel like the thing is going to  break off or fall apart one of
these times.  One other thing I've noticed is that during the first few
miles of driving during a given day, when shifting from 1st down into 2nd,
the shifter seems to make a rattling sound (as opposed to grinding) as it
goes into 2nd, as if passing through something loose down in there - for
some reason this seems to improve as the bus warms and eventually goes
away.  Anyway, I have read stuff here over time about the "shift coupler"
and associated "bushings" down there (I'm working from memory here, so
please forgive me if my terminology is incorrect) - would these be likely
culprits, or is what I'm experiencing sound normal?  Is there something I
can adjust or tighten?  Thanks for any help/information you can send
across!

Travis
79 Riviera
Portland, OR