what does it mean when your gearshifter gets stuck in like 5th gear..and you cant get is out unless you beat on it, then it works fine after that?

 

Your clutch is shot and needs to be replaced.

Edit: Or you need to bleed your master/slave cylindar, its not depressing your pressure plate enough, or you could have a leak, causing it to lose pressure over time, which means it needs to be pumped a few times before trying to engage/disengage gears. Good way to tell is get your car up on jacks, run the motor, depress the clutch and put the shifter into first, have someone else watch, and if your tires move even with the clutch depressed, then you have a problem.

Check for leaks.

Any other issues, such as difficulty getting into other gears? Grinds? slippage?

 

well i taught my girlfriend to drive a 5spd on the car, and she grinded the gears a bit but it has only stuck once on her. she came to a complete stop while it was still in 5th , and then she tried to shift to first, but it woulndt go, she had top beat at it to get it into first. and no problems every since. the guy that i bought the car from said the clutch has been replaced already, so i hope it isnt that.

 

The "clutch" may have been replaced, as in the disk, but was the whole assembly replaced as well? like the Throwout bearing, and pressure plate?

If thats not the case, it sounds like a master/slave cylindar issue, a leak somewhere.