Clutchmasters suggested I check the clutch adjustment. I did this today as per the video DIY here
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8040
At the suggested clutch pedal position of barely lower than the brake pedal in the video above, things seem to behave exactly the same as initially. This engagement point is considerably closer to the floor and while there is still the same blocked out feel of the gears from idle in N to 1st/reverse, being able to engage gears without grinding still seems to suggest the original problem wouldn't have been clutch drag from insufficient slave cyl travel.
I tried a bunch of adjustments ranging from the suggested one to the pedal WAY above the brake pedal. Nothing changed with any of this, as far as curing the difficulty putting it in gear.
What I did notice though (I did this in my garage where I could hear sounds reflecting off the walls easily) was when clutched in, when you'd go to put the shifter into any gear, you could actually feel the spot where the shifter hesitated to be pushed forward. When pushing up against this "hesitation point" you could hear a very very quiet faint whirling noise coming from the clutch area.
I'm thinking that maybe it could be the clutch disc binding on the spline after all (from not enough lube applied). Sucks I have to pull the gearbox to find out for sure lol.
I'm going to try the free rev thing here first. If it is the binding issue with the spline, it probably would creep forward while free reving, so stay tuned... lol