Car only starts when in neutral

Ran into a strange issue today. Had to drop the steering column to get to the instrument cluster to try to fix a leaking oil gauge. Once everything was back together, the car wouldn’t start until we shifted it into neutral. Checked everything we could think of but nothing helped. Ended up loosening the 4 bolts in the steering column, rotated it slightly and the car started from park again... Held my breath and tightened up the bolts, and now it starts in park again. I couldn’t see any wiring that was pinched or disconnected. Is there something mechanical or a switch within the column that causes this?

edit:
1971 Duster - column shifter