97 B4000, 5-spd, 4WD, 4.0L V6.

Bought the truck used in January 2006 to replace old, reliable Nissan
lost in Hurricane Katrina.  The B4000 had 89,000 miles.  About three
months after I bought it, I noticed that after driving 10-15 miles,
became bery difficult to shift into 1st or 2nd gears -- shifting up or
down.  Problem became worse and worse until it was so bad that I was
afraid I would break the stick I had to shove so hard to get it into
1st or 2nd.

I had purchased an extended warranty with the truck so the dealer
replaced the transmission.  After about three months, the same problem
emerged, only this time it affected only 2nd gear.  Did not matter if
I was just starting off or had driven a few miles -- shifting up from
1st or down from any other gear, shifting into 2nd was damn near
impossible.

The gears did not grind -- it felt as thought there was no gear there
-- when I tried to pull it into 2nd, the stick just stopped as though
it was jamming into something.

I took it back to the dealer.  The insurance company told them to tear
down the transmission and check for signs of abuse.  I did not abuse
the truck -- it was a daily driver, little use of 4WD, took good care
of it.  Dealer found metal shavings in the transmission and the
service manager told me it looked as though a bearing in the
transmission was badly worn.  The insurance company paid for it and
the dealer has rebuilt the transmission.

I am on the road and will not pick up the truck for a week.

Here's my question:  Is it possible that the problem is not in the
transmission??  Could it be that the transmission, or the rear end, or
maybe the driveshaft is out of round, or out of alignment, or some
other strange malady that is ruining the transmission??

I'm thinking that as soon as I get the truck back, I'll sell it while
it's running good and get a new Ranger.