Steering issues with my car, 2013 Ford PIS/Taurus

[compact badger]

My 2013 Ford Police Interceptor Sedan (3.5L FWD NA) has a major steering issue where there's 10-15° of play in both directions before the wheels actually respond. At first, I noticed a thump when turning the wheel like 10-20° while parked but not whilst driving, and soon after, the Service Advancetrac light came on. Later, after a hard acceleration, the issue got worse—the steering felt loose and unresponsive, only engaging after the initial free play. Power steering still works, but the first 10-15° of movement has almost no resistance, which feels abnormal. Even with the engine off and no power steering, I can turn the wheel about 15° freely before hearing a thump and getting the normal resistance of turning the wheels with power steering.

Not sure if my PS is the culprit since it's an electronic steering system and I can still turn the wheels as if power steering works when the engine is running

I did hit a pretty knarly pot hole earlier that day, but that was about 30+miles before the major issues. Maybe this caused something to come loose?

With FORScan, I get codes U0415 and code C0051, I'll attach pics and screenies below.

Any guidance or advice on what could be wrong? If it's not too hard of a repair I might consider DIY, but shop is most likely right now.

If I reset the codes and unplug battery and let it sit, error codes go away and Service Advancetrac light goes away, but the steering issue persists and light comes on again after about 30 seconds of driving

[keen cape]

I’d be concerned about damage to the rack - it’s time to get this in the air and inspect the steering linkage. My assumption is all the tie rods and mounting points are all ok, but I’d bet if you watch your steering assembly (not from under, for safety), if a helper turns the wheel you’ll see the shaft move but the link won’t.

[compact badger]

Got it, thank you. I'm a broke college student so I'm trying to avoid the shop as much as possible. From my research online, it looks to be totally do-able.

However, for initial diagnosis, I only have a jack and jack stands to lift the car up. What am I looking for specifically? I mean if any tie rods or support rods are bent/broken that would be pretty noticeable right?

What are the tell-tale signs this could be the steering rack? And how do I test to tell? Thank you sm