Trouble shifting into 2nd and Reverse

[David Miller]

    Hello, I recently bought a 1990 80 Quattro and now a few problems have
cropped up.  Namely: I have problems shifting into 2nd and reverse.  When
the car is cold (as in when I start it in the morning), I have trouble
shifting from 1st to 2nd.  It seems that there's a gate or some sort of
thing that catches the stick and holds it for a second before letting me
shift (I have made sure the clutch is fully depressed of course).  It just
feels bad for there to be a slight jerk when shifting.  Also, depending on
how the car feels it seems, there's a problem shifting into reverse.  Even
making sure the stick is fully depressed, I have problems getting the stick
into gear.  As with the previous problem, it seems some gate is catching the
stick, and in this case preventing it from moving into the gear at all.
When I've tried to reverse at night and this has happened, I've noticed it
happens at exactly the point where the reverse lights would come on... (as
in, when this happens, the reverse lights don't come on).

Thanks for any help you can provide,
David Miller