They are pretty cheap, you can get a steel input shaft from hanlon for $30 or so, should come with the seal. Be sure to use the old shims from the old retainer onto the new retainer, also, order up a new throwout bearing while you are at it.
If your clutch isn't slipping now, you may be alright. dropping the tranny is simple, just remove the exhaust and driveshaft, etc. Goes a lot quicker than if you have to yank the whole bell and redo the clutch. This is a worthwhile fix if your tranny is otherwise good, and your clutch is still otherwise good. However, it is a bandaid to an old transmission. I soaked a clutch clean with fluid from a front seal leak.
sticks in gear??? maybe your clutch adjustment is bad. make sure your cable is tight enough. you don't want to yank the tranny, just to put it back in again if it's bad.
Hanlon will sell you a complete rebuild kit with a video for like $200 or less. IF you are halfway decent with cars, you can stick this video in, and rebuild your own t5 for a fraction of the cost. It can be done in a few hours from what I understand. (I'm about to embark on this very soon)
