Ok, I was intrested in Philbert's seat replacement thread. I have his shifter combination currently. You can get a decent view if you scroll down that DIY thread.

 

In case someone missed it, I solved it by putting the main lever into neutral and pulled it in the direction of the driver's door. It bent maybe a 1/2" over, measured at the handle/knob.

It's been 2 days now and several trips on the highways and is still not hitting the t-case lever when I reverse.

I'm still amazed by how tight the throws are now: I can even tell that 5th and reverse a little bit farther right than I thought. Like, 1st and 3rd / 2nd and 4th are about 1.5" separated, horizontally, and 3rd and 5th / 4th and Reverse are around 2" separated.

 

my guess is that 20 or so years of shifting have gradually bent the shift lever in tiny increments, coupled with worn bushings.. when you put in the new bushings, the shift lever had been bent to suit the old bushing, and the new bushings corrected the lever location.

you can see the problem

 

Mine have been hitting for years.. If you want get the short shift mode from Marlin or LCE. Otherwise just bend it a little. It was never an issue for me, until the 4" body lifted truck got running.