Not one to leave well enough along for very long, I started messing with the cables again the other day trying to re-route them a little better and I think I finally got them right.  

Then I finally lubed the cables using this little trick http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1237997098/1#top
I was AMAZED at the difference when I rode it again today. The cables that I had put on were in dire need of that lube. I didn't have any heavy weight lube oil, so I used what I had (an old partial bottle of some old SYN 10w-40 that I would never use again) It only took about 30min before it was dripping out the bottom and I cleaned it up. Still a couple more drops since then but almost nothing.

Before lubing the cables, the clutch had become so stiff that I started shifting w/o using the clutch because I was dreading pulling it in (it took that much force). After lubing it, I can pull it in with 1, maybe 2 fingers as easily as I can the brakes on my mountain bike!!! What a difference.

I guess my rant here is just that don't overlook lubing those cables, simple and easy, that made riding more enjoyable again.