So, I go for a drive tonight, stop to pick up the lady friend, try to shut off the car... and it wouldn't turn off. The key did nothing. Stereo, gauges, all kept of working. Had to stall the thing just to shut'er down.
took apart the steering shaft as much as i could. Couldn't really see anything wrong. all seems to work ok. Any ideas of what else this could be? I took the whole Ignition canister out and there was nothing wrong with it. Am I missing something?!

 

Lower the column and check the IGN switch. It may be loose or defective

 

The key mech is only a mechanical device to operate the ign switch located at the base of the column.

 

Alright, I'll give that a shot tonight. Is there a way I can tell if the switch is fried? or is it kinda a shot in the dark replacing it and seeing if that fixes the problem?
Just from what I can tell, it's a b***** to replace, and would hate to go through all that work to find out the switch wasn't the problem.

 

When you turn the key, it pushes/pulls a rod on top of the column. This rod slides the IGN switch through the various positions. The switch has elongated bolt holes for some adjustment since the rod isnt

Loose bolts or slide marks on the flange indicate its out of adjustment. If you adjust it and the problem doesnt fix itself, then replace the switch

 

Thanks Pocket.
The IGN SWITCH was definitely the problem. The old one wouldn't go all the way to the off position anymore.
The only problem I've run into now, which is unrelated... but I'm trying to put my column back together (from when I took it apart to look at the keyed ignition unit), but i can't seem to get enough pressure on the wheel lock unit to get that little c-clip down to where it's supposed to go. Is there a trick to getting that sucker down far enough to clip it back in? The spring seems to have a lot of tension and just won't go down very far.

 

Are you using the compressor tool?

 

No... stupid me. lol. After doing a bit of research, I found what I should be using. I'll stop by an auto store tomorrow and grab one. Hopefully that should do the trick.