[bluetoy]

Let me be the first to state the obvious. Why would you stop when you know your car is stuck in 5th gear? I would drive it as far as possible then call for help when I hit heavy stop/go traffic. Revving the crap out of your engine and riding the clutch is probably the worst way to get rolling in 5th, it is however the best way to burn up a clutch. Sucks that it happened with a "good" quality shifter though.

Secondly, if you can change a short shifter, you can certainly change front sway bar links. What bushings are worn? If they are sway bar bushings you could also change those. The rears are especially easy. The fronts are not so easy.