[Kevin 1G Drummer]

The cables already have bushings in them on the transmission side, and I still have the bushings for the shifter base. I was gonna throw them in the car on tuesday before you picked it up, but I forgot.

When I installed the new master a year and a half ago I'm pretty sure I left it adjusted all the way out, but it's possible something could have loosened up in that time. One more thing you could try is to re-bleed the slave. When I installed the new slave about a month ago I just gave it a quick bleed, and it's possible there's still a little air in the system somewhere. It would grind into first or reverse for me every once in a while, but I never had any grinding issues with any other gears.

Also, I never did anything with the clutch pedal assembly, and it's possible that could be getting worn out as well, it is an 18 year old car. There's a mod you can do that involves a little welding that should take care of any play there may be in the pedal assembly.