Ok so I lose my keys to my 1997 chev express 2500. Back in the day we used to gouge out the ignition cylinder and insert a screw driver to start the motor. So I go ahead with this in mind and it doesn't work this way on my van. I did extensive damage to the column and had to hot wire the vehicle. Now I can only manually shift gears from 2nd to 3rd. I think its in some type of limp mode. I lost the odometer gauge which no longer lites up. everything else works fine. My question is do I have to replace the whole steering column or is there a way to get my gears back

 

On a further note...after destroying my ignition i found my keys ....lol