The quiet metallic noises are still coming from the short shifter. Totally unnoticeable when the top is down, but like most things like this, now that it has been pointed out you just cannot make it go away. I may take the OEM shifter into work and get them to take about an inch off of it. See if that quiets everything down.
Of course I should actually put the OEM one back in and try it first. Maybe it is not the shifter itself. Maybe there is something internal that has been “adjusted.” But I probably won’t…