Replaced the shifter boots and turret lube!
Yikes - I probably should've checked these out right when I got the car! When I pulled the console I could see right through the outer boot, all the way to the pavement. The inner boot was trash as well.
:punchout:
Anyhow, I replaced both boots and the little bushing on the end of the shifter. Probably could stand to replace the two nylon rings that cradle the big fulcrum ball, too, but I didn't even think about it while I was at Town North. Then, digging around in the garage, I found a couple bottles of Mobil One gear lube - bonus! I also made the pilgrimmage to Harbor Freight and found a crappy but perfectly useful $6 suck-a-pump gizmo to pull the old fluid out of the turret.
Final result: It shifts a whole lot better, I don't feel the heat coming in, and it's a little quieter. Next step will be to go ahead and change the tranny fluid with the Mobil One.