My van is still new (less thank 5K) and I am glad to hear the Atlas loosens up over time. When I have had trouble getting in our out of low range I use the trick I learned driving my dad '59 Willys which has worked well so far. If I roll very slowly in neural which unload any stress on the drive train and it goes right in our out. If you are on level ground roll forward or in reverse shift to neutral while rolling and push the selector. It goes in easily every time using this method.
John