So I was able to make the 5 foot cable work.

I drilled a new hole farther back on the trans tunnel so the cable was closer to the shifter. It goes towards the passenger side and loops back around the bell to the driver's side. Seems to work OK, possibly better than before since it has a more gentle loop now.

I wrapped it with heat shield tape where it gets near the exhaust but its no closer than it was before it was moved and it never burned.

Thanks for all the replies, glad I didn't spend the coin on a new cable.