Personally, I would epoxy prime just about any bare metal on the that I could. If you don't have access to an air compressor and paint gun, I would consider checking out Eastwood. They have an epoxy primer in a spray can (rattle can). It's a two part system that you activate by turning a knob or...
His shop is next door to my brothers body shop. They do have some fast cars over there and do some crazy shi+. If you've ever seen the crown vic he has, the motor in that car came out of my brothers shelby GT500 after it was totaled. My brother is doing paint and body work for the drag week car...
I personally have an 80cf bottle for my mig setup and a 125cf for the tig. I see no reason to have a 250cf bottle for home use unless you live really far from a refill facility or you plan on doing alot of welding in a short amount of time. I would recommend turning the bottle off when not using...
Did you buy the shifter new? If you bought it used it's possible that it's not a Mega shifter which should ratchet both ways. Try going on Youtube as B&M has many videos on there showing correct operation of their shifters. Good luck!
Yes there is supposed to be a bushing. If you would rather put a bushing back in it try Classic Industries as they may have it. Personally I would consider the bearing because I believe it is far superior to the plastic bushing. Good luck!
Try checking out the how to section, there's an article there about replacing that bushing for a bearing. I did the swap on mine and it worked out great!
UPDATE! Thanks to everyone who responded! Garrett, I did as you suggested in post #2 and put it into neutral after coming to a stop and noticed the shifter did'nt seemed a little off. I originally adjusted the shifter cable from p-r-n-1-2-3 and everything seemed spot on. I even rechecked this...