Column cover: You don't need to remove the instrument cover. I recall just 3 screws from the lower column cover and you should be able to remove the lower piece completely and upper cover enough to remove the shifter lever. You'll probably need to put the shift lever into neutral (or all the way down) while working the tilt to just the right position, so block your wheels or use the parking brake (assuming it still works).
Windows: All the windows and locks receive power and ground through the driver's master window switch. Sometimes the switch goes bad, but more often than not you find you have broken wires in the driver's door wiring loom. The older these trucks get (and a '96 is getting pretty old) the more electrical problems they tend to have. To be able to examine the wires, it's easiest to first remove the driver's door (which is pretty easy to do). The black plastic barrel/cannon connector attached to the door has a zip-tie holding the rubber boot to the connector. Cut the zip-tie to peel the boot back (you can replace the wire-tie with a new one when when done) a 10mm bolt holds the 2 halves together, remove it and it will unplug itself. The door is held onto body by four 13mm bolts. You will not be messing around with the door alignment bolts, as they are located on the cab side. If the wires are good in the door jam, sometimes you will find broken wires in the area of the driver's kick panel. There is also a splice that corrodes under the driver's side rear seat, near the sill plate, though I don't remember it than effects the rear window or rear lock function.
To get to the master window switch (or to get inside any of the doors) you must remove the interior door panels. Pop off the interior door handle cover, remove 2 screws above the door handle, pop the plastic push-in xmas-tree clips from the bottom and sides of the panel, lift the panel from the front to unhook a molded plastic hook from the front doors then lift the entire panel upwards to release it from the door. The entire master window switch will slide out from the back of the armrest area. You'll need to unplug the power mirror switch. Under the trim panel you should find a plastic weather shield stuck to the door. Do not destroy the plastic while removing it, as you will need to reinstall it when done. This will now give you complete access to the interior of the door and everything inside of it. You will need a wiring diagram to ID the many wires inside the door.