Ugh, this took me months to work on and Im not 100% happy with the result. But I can say it not longer touches.
Where the linkage attaches to the back of the tranny, there is a small metal block with a rubber insert which can be worn. Get a new one from Carl. But its a pain to install--you need to drop the exhaust and drive shaft to get at it.
You can get a UUC short shift to help. Or, get a shifter from an E36 M3 from Jim at Mesa which drops right in at a fraction of the price. The problem is that its thicker so it really on helps with fore/aft throw issues.
There is a non-E9 shift linkage which lets you offset the shifter a bit toward the passenger side at the back of the shifter carrier. I got mine from CoupeKing, I dont know what doner car was used, but ask him what he used on my car.
I wanted to use the trick Jay used but I dont know how to weld. Ill bet its the simpler solution.