Dodge Dart Pitman Arm
No it is not normal for it to move around like an Atari joy stick. It should take a little bit of effort to move the (stud, ball joint, thing the castle nut bolts to LOL). It should not be so loose that it just flops from side to side. It sounds like you need a new pitman arm. Like you said better to be safe then crash you ride. Mine didn't do any of the things you described but I replaced it anyway. As far as finding more information about the different pitman arms you might want to try bigblockdart.com tech page they have a lot of good information. If I am not mistaken in 73 the switched to a pitman and idler arm that bolt to the center link from the top down un like the earlier a bodies like my 70 Duster 340. Good luck and keep asking questions someone will have your answer if I didn't help you.