Well here's my report. Somewhat short however.
Pulling out of my driveway I was careful not to use it since I know it's going to be more sensitive and it was. As I headed down my block it even felt different from the rubber hose. I guess the best way to explain it was that rubber gave it a cushioning, nothing bad, but now without that cushion I feel like I can feel that throttle so much better. I feel as if it reacts the way I do; inch for inch with my foot. I have a nice long straight away by my house which runs next to the parkway. I was hoping this would be a good test area (as long as I hit it at the right time of day). Unfortunately I hit it at the wrong time since that nice long straight away had cars parked along making turning into traffic a chore. So when that happens I do what I always do. Gas it and hope if anyone's there they slow down (I know it sounds unsafe and bad driving but it's unavoidable, even the best of drivers do what I do). And so I did. With a screech got onto the road, looking in my mirror to make sure the cost was clear and let off the gas a little as i went from right lane to left. Potential I knew, but in that situation it was hard to really judge.
As I got to the end of the straight away I hoped onto the parkway. Perfect test since the on ramp is only a car length or two to get on. After that a short patch of grass and a brick wall holding up the overpass. Great place to get up to speed quick. Again, firmly I gassed it. 1st Gear lasted all but 2 seconds. Feeling the hard shift I eased up to catch everything and make it smoother. I never like going through gears like that. Acceleration isn't smooth. As long as it's not important at the time, I'd wait the few seconds to go through gears for the smoother ride. I should have probably already mentioned I do drive an automatic so going through those gears I should expect it to be a little rough.
Anyway as soon as I get on the highway I keep it at a steady 70. Looking for stability. So far so good. I get off onto another busy/hard to get onto road. Confidence in my experiment, and without a screech I pull onto the road and I'm almost immediately up to speed limit (~40mph). Now I have a few lights and stop and go traffic. A good test for durability.
I arrive at the mall and while I was waiting for my girlfriend I popped the hood to check the line and it all looked fine.
I'm hoping this will all go well. Worse comes to worse I buy the spacer. Big whoop. If all of you would like me to keep an update, I'll be glad to do it. I'd also like to see what others think of this version. (This was a 98 3.8). I apologize if this is too report-ish like, I'm used to writing reports for another forum.