Q: bought a 2001 dodge grand caravan as is from a dealership in puyallup wa at northwestmotorsport. the steering was hard to turn lef

bought a 2001 dodge grand caravan as is from northwest motorsport in puyallup wa. the dealer suggested it might be the pump. before i left i called several auto repair shops and was quoted around 450 area and around 900 for the rack and pinion. why is it more for the rack and pinion when it's a much easier task than the pump? the reservoir seems to be full and black. because when i took the van for a test drive it was nice but the steering was stiff/tough to turn left or right, once up to speed it handled ok till i slowed down or put it in reverse. i don't want to spend more than i need to to fix something that isn't broken so when i do go to a shop for this repair i am not being fucked over. anykind of insight would be greatly appreciated.

one last thing on the shifter there is a thing called manual would that effect the stiff steering?

My car has 212000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.