I think what you are saying, is that the shackles had nothing to do with the noise, and the reasons you thought the noise came from were not the sources you originally suspected, and that, now, your only problem is chirping from what you believe is the front swaybar bushings?

And the loss in MPG was the normal seasonal loss in mpg from the stations switch at the approximate tiime to the blend du season, etc...

And, that the half inch of rake from the shackles felt like too much, so you went back to 1.5"...

So, all you need now is the lubricant for poly bushings, readily available from parts places, Daystar, etc?

Am I reading the above correctly....you just need to get the poly bushing spray?

(If so, I recommend that you get some.)