Sounds very familiar....

Try this.

At the bottom of the steering column is a plastic cover. It covers the yoke of the steering column where it connects to the P/S rack.

Remove the cover and set it aside.

Get a flathead screwdriver and some ball bearing grease.

Vaseline might even work if you dont have any grease. See the rubber ring around the bottom of the yoke? all the way to the bottom. That rubber is dry (and cold) grease it up! See if that helps.