OK Guys, I want to send off my wood trim center console pieces to be refinished. No problem rmoving center console and small piece in the back of the center console but I cannot figure out how to remove the trim piece that surrounds the shifter and radio. I even stopped by a local trim shop and he could not do it. Any suggestions?

Pull the shifter boot up from the rear to access screws to remove the plate, This is auto a correct? If so the Shifter needs to be pulled straight up if you want to remove it, Brace yourself and be careful!!! Hold the shifter button in and pull HARD..... Be careful, Protect yourself!

as I learned in the past... no one here is joking when they say brace yourself and pull hard. I did both but still, almost to no avail, was finally able to get the shifter off RIGHT into my cheek bone. Hurt like hell.

you will also want to have the gear selector in "D" so the console surround will lift over the shifter stem easily (make sure your parking brake is on).
Need to remove the radio and MID unit. The HVAC controls come out with the surround and is unscrewed from the back once everything is out. There are also two phillips screws directly above the MID (hidden under a pair of caps).

There are also two phillips screws directly above the MID (hidden under a pair of caps).
That's only true for the plastic center console. The wooden console has three screws hidden in the hole where the MID/OBC resides. You can't access these without taking the MID/OBC out.

Pull the shifter boot up from the rear to access screws to remove the plate, This is auto a correct? If so the Shifter needs to be pulled straight up if you want to remove it, Brace yourself and be careful!!! Hold the shifter button in and pull HARD..... Be careful, Protect yourself!

Any suggestions as to why my shifter doesn't want to stay reinstalled - it seems to seat correctly, but pops out with very little effort - sometimes none at all :( It took the aforementioned HARD(!!!) pull to get it to come out. Is it possible something broke?

Probalbly lost it's shape when it was pulled out, I had a similar issue when i went aftermarket on the shifter, I went out of the way and put a screw in the bottom of mines to make it stay afterwards, Worked out fine, You can also get away with a Hot glue gun, The glue will hold and just peel away when you have to remove it again.

Cool - I'll give that a try. Thanks for the suggestions!!!

Put the car in Neutral and give the shifter knob a hard smack straight down. Took a bit of effort to get it out - takes a bit of effort to reseat it.

Don't forget to put the parking break on before attempting this ;)