[Jay Laifman]

Yes, I'm going to bleed it.

I've looked around at the countless threads on the correct fluid. Lots of opinions. I could not however find if anyone knew what actually came in the transmission from the factory - as opposed to what my dealer might have on its shelf (if it did actually swap it). In case anyone out there cares, what I've seen seem to be the most highly regarded fluid is from the Ford dealership, XT-M5-QS. The Miata and S2000 guys also seem to like this best too. Also Motul Gear 300, 75W90. But, I'm not trying to start another transmission fluid thread here! Lots of those already on this site.

I heard from the dealership. They claim they did not touch the fluid in the transmission or the clutch fluid, and that they did not change anything other than the TOB (like the lever).
This does not explain:
(1) Why three of us all separately noticed a shorter clutch pedal throw. However, I must admit it does seem odd that the tech would bother to touch that.
(2) Why the change in only the TOB has made 1st and 2nd harder when cold - unless the replacement TOB they used was slightly shorter and therefore not pushing the clutch in as far. But there is no way to know that at this point. Maybe the tech bunged up the splines on the input shaft so the clutch plate does not slide as freely, or put on a more sticky lubricant. But I would think that if that is bad enough to cause a problem, that it wouldn't care if the car was cold or not.