  We describe a new tool for studying the structure and physical
characteristics of ultracompact AGN jets and their surroundings with
microarcsecond precision. This tool is based on the frequency dependence of the
light curves observed for intra-day variable radio sources, where the
variability is caused by interstellar scintillation. We apply this method to
PKS1257-326 to resolve the core-shift as a function of frequency on scales well
below ~12 microarcseconds. We find that the frequency dependence of the
position of the scintillating component is r \propto \nu^{-0.1 \pm 0.24} (99%
confidence interval) and the frequency dependence of the size of the
scintillating component is d \propto \nu^{-0.64 \pm 0.006}. Together, these
results imply that the jet opening angle increases with distance along the jet:
d \propto r^{n_d}$ with n_d > 1.8. We show that the flaring of the jet, and
flat frequency dependence of the core position is broadly consistent with a
model in which the jet is hydrostatically confined and traversing a steep
pressure gradient in the confining medium with p \propto r^{-n_p} and n_p > 7.
Such steep pressure gradients have previously been suggested based on VLBI
studies of the frequency dependent core shifts in AGN.
