The study of Sanskrit is something I wish to continue all my life. It is a wonderful and beautiful language, which gives up its treasures only reluctantly, and with time. I do not wish to pose as an expert, or, as being particularly knowledgeable. Simply, as an enthusiast, who might be able to help with a particular question, depending on how long it has been since I have been involved with the language.
As far as I know, there is no "z" in Sanskrit, except for those words borrowed from the Persian. No doubt, the z you use, is a convention used by a scholar I don't happen to be familiar with. In Monier Williams Sanskrit-English dictionary, the Devangari letter "श" is transliterated as "ś". In Sanskrit, पाश pAśa is, as you suggest, a snare, trap, noose. An epithet of Varuṇa, is पाशधर pAśa-dhara -- holding a noose.
We find an occurence of "pashadhya" in the second strota of the Sahasranama:
उद्यद्भानु सहल्राभा चतुबहु समान्विता
रागस्वरुप पाशाढ्या क्रोधाकाराङ्कुशेजऴला - २
2.Udyadbhanu sahasrabha chaturbahu samanvita
Raagasvarupa pashadhya krodha karankushojjvala.
The subject of how letters become transmuted into other letters is a basic question which I have found on line, but, alas, do not know by heart. There are rules for turning "weak" vowels into "stronger" ones, and, there are cases where a change in a consonant follows a change in the vowel. I apologize, but this is the best I can provide, in terms of answering your specific question.