the other day the shifter in my car just all of a sudden came really loose and now rocks back and forth while in gear. any ideas on what it would be, whether its just a bad shifter, or its an internal transmission problem? im hoping i can just throw in a short throw and be done with it.

Unscrew the knob and take off the shifter bezel and take a look.

I'm assuming one of the two bolts on the handle may have come off and allowing it to rotate. Just take off the shift knob and pull out the bezel and see what's going on. I'm always afraid my MGW handle is going to come loose and spin around...

Either the bolts have come loose or you need a new shifter bushing.