I rechecked the part listing, and I realized that it is for 2nd-generation birds. I think I found the problem though. The previous owner did a really terrible job cutting the hole for the shifter, and he ended up patching a large part of the top and drivers side of the tunnel. The "repair" is what interferes with the linkage. I'll have to redo the patch properly sometime. I don't have a console (didn't like the look), so the rectangular stick should work just fine for me.