2011 Barbarian Auto
Gear selector getting stiff to move.

I've seen threads on the 2wd /4wd selector getting stuck but haven't found one this issue.
This is the Park, Reverse, Drive selector that intermittently gets stiff to move. It's something that happened a few months ago and went away but overnight it became so stiff it wouldn't engage into Drive.
After some time working it back and forth I had loosened it enough to engage Drive but not fully 'lock in'. A gentle nudge forward would plop it straight into Neutral.
Some more driving and working the selector has got it to lock in as it should but its still quite stiff to move.

It's been driving well and the problem gets no better or worse with the engine hot or cold

Anyone had similar or an idea as to why this could happen