Steering Gear "slip"

Hey all,
Lately Ive noticed my steering wheel has a slight "give" to it for about 1/4" in either direction.If you are dead stopped and turn the wheel slowly in either direction I feel a definite slip for a tiny fraction of space.

This is something new, never seen it before, gearbox need adjusting? rebuilding?

1st thing,,,,,,rock the steering wheel through its loose section and see if you can see if any linkage is moving before it gets to the tires,,,,,,take a look at the pitman arm that comes out off the bottom of the steering box,,,,,see if it moves,,,then there are 2 ball joints on the drag link,,,,then there are 2 ball joints on the tie rod ends,,,,,and then there are the king pin bushings,,,,,so see what you find,,,,if the steering wheel has a lot of free play and the pitman arm does not move,,,then the problem is the steering box,,,,,,

donivan65 wrote:1st thing,,,,,,rock the steering wheel through its loose section and see if you can see if any  linkage is moving before it gets to the tires,,,,,,take a look at the pitman arm that comes out off the bottom of the steering box,,,,,see if it moves,,,then there are  2 ball joints on the drag link,,,,then there are 2 ball joints on the  tie rod ends,,,,,and then there are the king pin bushings,,,,,so see what you find,,,,if the steering wheel has a lot of free play and the pitman arm does not move,,,then the problem is the steering box,,,,,,

OK I'll check all the moving linkage parts, there's not any play at all in the steering, or hasn't been until this occurred, it feels like a flip of some sort and not wear and tear