I hope this is in the right section...

The 87 trans am I have been working on has an unusual issue (at least in my experience). The ignition lock cylinder will not turn back to remove the key

The car has been fine and I have been driving it around the yard, the issue just happened this morning. I can force the cylinder to turn back and pull the key but it isn't going back and locking as it has been and should do.

Any similar experience with this? I can see the rod move when I turn the key and look from underneath. The outer part of the column is a little loose and I can "wobble" it if that helps.

 

You need to replace the ignition cylinder. I had a similar issue a few years ago. Not terribly difficult, just tedious and an pain in the butt.

 

Is there a reason why this happened all of a sudden or is this normal?

 

Not sure how normal it is, but I know I had the issue and replacing the ignition cylinder fixed the problem.

 

Can also happen if the shifter isn't going completely into PARK.

 

That's what I was originally thinking, I lifted the shift plate up and the shifter seems to be hitting the stop in the front when in PARK.

However I can pull the shifter back out of PATK without pushing the side button ...

 

It should lock in park.Most likely the cable at the trans is keeping it from going fully into PARK.Try adjusting from down there.

 

Take the cable apart from the shifting linkage on the transmission. Make sure your transmission is in Park. Also make sure your shifter is in park. Now adjust the cable to the transmission linkage and put back together.