Your solenoid can fail, and probably is your issue. Some people remove it, but I was worried about the potential for water ingress, so instead of removing it, I took a dremmel to the plunger and cut it off flush and re installed it.
Your going to have to open up the tranny tunnel again to get to it (it was actually the HARDEST part of the install for me, very hard to figure out how to contort to get in there). As you take it apart you'll be able to tell if you have a bent/loose linkage or if it is the solenoid.
For my vehicle, I'm worried about a loosening or bent linkage as I had to jury rig the D1 setup in order to make it work. Luckily, I've found if you are rolling slightly it requires minimal force to shift in and out of range.
For anybody who comes to this site researching, this is one of many reasons why I advocate spending the money for the Ashcroft shaft. Sure you can get a D1 linkage for $100 (IF you get all the parts), but the work required and the fact that your "kit" won't be in tip-top shape (my $200 rubber gaiter was torn) makes it not worth the issue. Ashcroft is plug-and-play and you'll at least have factory support if you don't get all the equipment.
Good luck. Even if you open her up and find a tweaked D1 linkage, I'd still cut/remove the solenoid while I was in there!
Oh, and to answer your other question: I don't think you can "bypass" it. It is closed in its un-powered state. When you put the vehicle in Neutral, it pulls back the plunger allowing you to shift. This is why it's a horrible design if your solenoid fails on the trail: There is no way to fix it without removing your center console. NOT FUN in Moab temps!
