[jhv48]

Nope, I had to pull the tranny again and gave a new mechanic a shot. He found that the throwout bearing was a bit worn because the angle of the slave to the fork was about thirty degrees off parallel. Thus, the slave was pushing the clutch fork at an upward angle, rather than straight.

Everything else was fine. I now have about 1200 miles on the last fix and so far, all seems better. Shifting into first at a stop is smooth and shifting into reverse when cold is noise free. However, hurried shifting into reverse when hot (like having to parallel park) still produces a substantial grind in reverse no matter how many gears you put it in first.

So, I disconnected the neutral safety switch and just start the car in reverse when I need to back out of a parking spot.

Might try a hydraulic throwout bearing next time the trans comes out.