Well Josh, you are sure up on these things. I took off the cable at the base where it goes into the trans. The cable looked good but the inner coil came out of the outer sheath, both ends still had good square tips and was still lubed. I gave it going over with some silicone grease for good measure and ran it back into the sheath. I was upset when the speedo did not read with a drill on it. Then I realized that I needed to run the drill CC, counter clockwise and it worked fine. A 17mm deep socket easily removed the base. The inner tang/spindle had worn in half and was obviously shot. I did have to pick out the lower seal and metal washer from the hole. Used a vac cleaner to suck out the dust and worn bushing material. Screwed in the new base ( $15.00 at the dealer), attached the cable and away we went. Good speedo & odom readings, no bounce on the needle and all the codes are clear, fans quiet and the check eng. light is off! I am very happy. 194K and humming.
Thank you for your guidance, Brass.