Got this fixed, after going down a maze or two and finding dead ends.
First,
this topic thread was very helpful in giving me an idea what I was going to find when I began tearing the steering column apart. It describes a different year and model Ford truck with a tilt wheel, but the basic layout of the ignition switch and related parts is very close. Pay attention to the part where they tell you how to be safe working with the airbag!
After pulling off the plastic panel under the steering wheel, the plastic cover from the bottom of the column at the wheel, and the trim bezel from around the instrument cluster, it was time to yank out what I'm going to call the "knee bar", a stamped sheet steel plate that encloses the area above the foot well. "Knee bar", because that's that your knees are going to slam into in a front end collision!
Once this was off, the actual ignition switch, the part with the wires that do the work, was exposed. It comes off with two Torx cap screws. The action seemed kind of stiff to me, so I drilled out the aluminum rivets holding it together and opened it up. Nothing wrong inside, adequate yellow grease and nothing binding, so I smeared any blobs of grease around and reassembled it using 4-40 machine screws and nuts.
With the switch off, I was able to turn the ignition key with one hand, but it was still pretty stiff. Jiggling it, I could see that the first section of the
plastic rods was freely moving. (who designs this stuff with plastic parts, anyway?) The second rod, the front-most one that actually moves the above switch, was not sliding easily. It looked like I was going to have to pull the steering wheel and get at this stuff to find out why.
Removed the airbag, removed the Torx-head cap bolt in the center of the wheel, and went at it with a good Proto gear puller. No dice, even at an uncomfortable level of cranking and some tapping with a hammer, the wheel wasn't moving.
Figured I didn't have much to lose at this point, I put a piece of cardboard and lots of rags covering the carpet, and began saturating the front rod with WD40 (what I had on hand). Most of it just poured out the bottom of the column, where the ignition switch would be attached, but the rod did loosen up some. Temporarily reinstalling the ignition switch revealed that it worked acceptably, and even sprang back to "run" from the "start" position without help. I decided I had a winner, enough so that I would reassemble and work on something more important.
Getting the top trim cover off the steering column was not easy, and I had taken the instrument cluster loose to gain some working room, but just pushed it up instead of removing it. Now I decided to pull the cluster and polish the clear cover while I had it loose.
Revelation! First, there was evidence of a mouse getting in that area. Second, it seemed that the area had been wet at some time, rusted fasteners, dirty puddle marks, corrosion on the cast aluminum column casting. While cleaning up, something caught my eye. There was an access cover on the top of column that when removed, exposed the top of the plastic rod that I had been trying to free up!
The red circle is above the joint between the first and second rod. I had already sprayed that pretty thoroughly. The green circle is the cover that was hidden under the cluster. It exposes the front rod. The black arrow is pointing at a tab that can be used to pull the cover off the column. There's a plastic pin holding it to the casting on the left, be sure to shove it over to the left while lifting to avoid breaking it off.
Here, I opted to use silicone spray in sparing amounts. the rod can be worked back and forth with the key, exposing the top at each end. The sides are also more open and lubricant can be directed there also. After a few squirts, the grease on the rod became softer and more liquid, and the action while turning the ignition key got ~much~ easier!
Anyway, if your ignition actuator roads aren't broken, but are causing a lot of stiffness, it might be worth trying some lubricant. I wish I had known about this little hatch in the top of the column in the beginning.
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