Shift lever shouldn't be loose, either the lever assy has worn bushings, or in the case of my '80 240, I found one of the urethane bushings gone from the bottom of the lever where the linkage connects to it (and noticed MANY with same problem in wrecking yard while trying to find another one). If your linkage is the same as mine it is a 2 piece linkage with a threaded section and a jamnut to adjust the linkage, Make sure all your bushings are there, then if you have to move the shifter around still to get it into the right gears, You might try (car turned off, chock your wheels-in case you should bump it out of park) put shifter in park, get under and unhook linkage from shifter, wiggle linkage to make sure it is seated comfortably in the park detent on the trans, then as you try to hook the linkage back to the shifter, it should line right up to the hole without pulling or pushing on it, if not, loosen the jam nut and adjust as needed, then tighten the nut and reassemble the linkage. Go from there and see what happens.