#30142, "my clutch part 2...guess what was wrong?"
so, i dropped the car off at satan, and got a quick call back like an hour later. it was the best news i've heard in a long time. the service manager told me that basically, i bent my short shifter, and it wasn't putting the linkage all the way in gear. he ordered me a stock shifter for $25, and didn't charge me for a diagnosis. ALSO... they reset my SRS light from when i painted my dash for free.
i gotta say, satan was decent to me this time. i'm happy.