This mischaracterizes the issue a little bit. There isn't a disparity between the OEM unit and the MGW equivalent from Spam to Steak. As I pointed out, if the stock unit WERE as bad as some of the others Ford has fielded, the value would be more pronounced.
Is the MGW better? No one argues that. It's how much and is it worth nearly $600 and 3 hours of install better. THAT is the question.
Obviously value is subjective to each person. My only point is that there's a ton of other modifications with BETTER value (as in effect for resources applied) prior to the swapping out the shifter.
I'd argue that swapping to my Signature wheels is lower on the value scale as well. Are the wheels better? Absolutely. Are they worth the cash expended? I think so. But in terms of how much they cost and what they return to me, they're LOWER on the value scale than say....an E-85 tune and Nguage or a 4.09 rear swap out or the exhaust upgrades.
Is steak from Morton's or Capital Grill or Sullivan's or Ruth's better than Longhorn? Yup. Is it twice as good? It's subjective. But we're comparing the MGW to the OEM unit, which isn't complete garbage (like they used to be).
I'm pretty much in this realm of thinking as well. I've shifted my "POS" stock shifter up and down the rpm spectrum. It's STILL the best OEM shifter I've ever felt. I just don't have the reasoning in place to get the MGW shifter. I expect it would be a very top quality unit but I really don't have a need for it to be tops on my mod list.
Now if I had the 19 shifter issues and was currently fighting that like the OP, I'd buy the MGW. But that would be done out of necessity which is entirely a different scenario.