I swapped my transmission the other day, and when I finished, the shifter wouldn't go any further than reverse. I disconnected the cable from the trans, and the tran end of it is fine. I then tried moving the shifter again, and it still wouldn't move any further than reverse. I removed the console cover, and the shifter looked fine. I decided to just put a little effort into it, and the shifter now moves through all the gears with the cable disconnected from the trans. The problem is that the cable must have somehow got bound, so it's tough to move.

How do I remove the cable from the shifter? It looks like there is a nylon collar, but it doesn't look like anything holds it on. Does it just pop off?