Tailgate open/ lock latch in closed position so tailgate will not close/ can't et lock latch to open so I can close tailgate completely

Make sure your alarm isn't armed. In many car door latches, there is a metal piece the 'closes' around the pin. If 'piece' can be flipped to the closed position with the door open, and then when you slam the door, it does not latch.

If you have a key fob, double click unlock then open latch. You may have to use a screw driver to help the latch move to the open position

Once you take the whole tailgate apart, you may find the current latch mechanism is only jammed, and with some lubrication and/or bending or adjustment, it may still work.
However, it may need replacement to fix the problem.
God bless your efforts.

more likely than not the latch has closed some how if you have some one hold the the handle to open the tailgate you can open the latch by hand with a screw driver if your not sure what it should look like look at another door latch in the open position very simple to do and you cant hurt anything doing it this way

I am not quite sure, but on the sides of the tailgate, where it locks, can't you push the mechanism back? I think you can. It either turns them from latch to open. You can try this. See if you can push it into lock mode.

First, make sure that the latch on the tailgate still lines up with the one on the body when you attempt to close. If nothing looks bent, the actuator might have locked and now the latch is stuck in the locked position. I'd try to put the key in and manually lock/unlock a few times to see if it can be opened. You could also try to hit it with some WD-40 or PB Blaster if you think that it has completely frozen to the lock position.

I had this happen once and was able to free the lock back to the open position and never had the problem after making sure that I kept it greased when doing the regular maintenance.

Remove the molding ring from around the handle. Becareful not to break the taps that lock it in. After removing the molding you should see the handle mechanism. There is a rod coming in from each side (each one runs out the the actual latch). Make sure each rod is connected into the handle assembly. If it is not put the rod into the hole and find the retainer clip to keep it in place.

Hello and welcome the problem is very simple to resolve first make sure you have battery power turn off vehicle open rear gate unlock doors go to rear gate and look at lock unlock again and push the Grey plastic lock trigger mechanism forward towards front glass close gate unlock again make sure lock is still in the position you just set it to and close glass it will the lock. Normally what happens in this situation was power was removed from your jeep and the rear gate was opened with no power running to electric lock so it stays in a set position you cannot lock the glass because there was no power in the electric lock I will lock once you reset it Hope this help. Please Rate Me . For further assistance you can always ask me.

most likely a broken spring inside latch

does this van have a button to open the back door? if it does push just like you are opening it and it should unlock itself