How To Replace your Lower Column Bearing: Better and Cheaper!!!
Have you removed the steering shaft yet? In addition to the machine screws that hold the steering collars together, you have to remove a few phillips head screws and the c-clip that holds the steering shaft into the steering collars.
To get rid of the shift tube from there, you also need to remove the gear shift lever (drive out the roll pin) and remove the set screw that holds the shift tube in.
You basically have to disassemble the entire thing to get the shift tube out.