Man, you guys are awesome. Thanks so much for putting my mind at ease. It's definitely more than I bargained for, but I'm starting to feel a little less like I should just push it into the river and collect the insurance.
The shift coupler bushings is something I was honestly already planning on, as I've seen so many complaints about them. But I've also been toying with the idea of swapping to a Numeric shifter, which would include new couplings anyway. I'm lowkey terrified of accidentally downshifting into 2nd from 5th, so much so that I don't even use 5th on the freeway in town. I figured something like a Numeric would help make that a little less likely, with the added cool factor to boot.