’97 Ranger Transmission/Clutch Issue(s?)

So I have a 1997 Ford Ranger Extended Cab XLT, 5 speed Manual 2.3L 4 Cylinder Inline Engine, RWD, sold in the U.S., check engine light has been on since a week after I bought it, I know minor things with it are likely, but never noticed any major problems until recently.

Now I’m not particularly familiar with all the technical terms when it comes to cars, but I understand all the parts functions in theory, I forget the names of some parts and my general vocabulary in the subject is sub-par at best so I apologize in advance if I sound like an idiot, and I’d appreciate a detailed explanation if you find yourself willing to do so, and thanks in advance for any advice and input you may have in advance. So here’s the deal, I bought this piece of shit rust-bucket of a car for $1,000 about 3 months ago, its got a little under 193,000 miles on it and so far I have had to replace the transmission mount, the catalytic converter, the exhaust system (we have E-check where I live) and yesterday I got the Rear Brake Drum, Rear Brake shoes, wheel cylinder, brake hardware kit (reading from the work order), rear brake hose, hard line, rear parking brake cables. The brakes just went out on me the other day, hence why I had to replace everything, but that was just after noticing a bunch of problems with the transmission/clutch, don’t believe they are related but maybe they could be somehow, i don’t know. So I just started noticing this problem probably a few weeks ago, I was on the highway going about 70 in 5th gear, and then I shifted into neutral to let it slow a bit, then I shifted into 4th gear, and everything appeared normal until I went to try and shift out of 4th, it appeared to be stuck in 4th gear. I panicked and tried double clutching it to get it out, didn’t really work, I was scared to just shove it out out of fear of breaking something, so the first time this happened I just depressed the clutch all the way down and hit the brakes until I stopped completely (conveniently at a red light because I was getting off the highway) so then after having the clutch all the way down I managed to wiggle it out and then everything appeared to work normally again, I felt it get stuck again in 4th gear, but it wasn’t consistent, so I just figured it was the synchros or something, and then second gear, while it has always been a bit of a bitch to me, sensitive and would grind every once in awhile while shifting into gear, it started to get more sensitive and will grind at me more consistently now while shifting. I noticed after shutting the car off and then starting the next day that these symptoms vanished until I went up to high speeds again, so pretty much anytime I was in 5th gear, 4th would get stuck once or twice and second would be all grindy again, so I figured it was either heat or the synchros, so I kinda put it off for a bit. Now about 5 days ago I made a 4 and half hour trip to college with a heavy load of stuff going high speeds, about 2 to 3 hours in i started noticing it getting stuck again, this time more consistently, I noticed if I went up and to the left it was a little easier to get out of 4th gear, and now second gear has pretty much permanently been very sensitive, and when I shift into second now I can actually feel the gear turning, not grinding, but the shifter vibrates from the what feels like the gear turning so I have to shift in very slowly otherwise it will grind really badly. First gear now has trouble shifting into a little bit too, sometimes not fully engaging and grinding at me real bad, third gear is also now a little sensitive, pretty much the only gear I have no trouble with is 5th, at least I think so so far, I’m not in it too often. So the brakes broke on me so naturally the truck made a trip to the mechanic, but this particular mechanic is not legally allowed to drive, and he just fixed my brakes, I told him the symptoms and he said sounds like a pressure plate issue but he didn’t really look at it, so I figured I just have to replace the clutch with a clutch kit, or maybe I have a dragging clutch because I know that can also screw up the synchros, so I guess I am trying to figure out here is it the clutch that’s bad or is it the transmission? and if its the transmission would it need to be replaced or is rebuilding an option? I am low on money as I am a college kid, and me and my engineering buddies could probably do just about anything on a car, we just need someone with more knowledge than us to help us diagnose the exact problem. I appreciate any advice you have in advance. Also if you want me to go into more detail or need any more info I will gladly provide, thanks again.