It's a bad synchonizer. Some can be band-aided with Synchromesh but contrary to what many people believe it doesn't fix it. It just band-aids the problem for a while. Your first gear problem could be because of a bent shifter cable or possibly what you have is the nut on the outside of your transmission is loose which causes misalignment and issues. That could be the cause of both. Although highly unlikely it's worth a shot. Look here:
http://www.vfaq.com/mods/Trannyrebuild.html
Second picture down. 2 36mm nuts that should be torqued to 120ft lbs. I have seen them come lose and cause grindling problems. Worth a shot. Remove all the outside bolts and pry it off. Remove fluid first of course.