Cosmo,
Thanks for the tip. You may be right. Is there a reason I would need to shorten both sides of the tierod? It seems like I could just cut off the right hand thread side, shorten and rethread it? If it's a standard 3/4-16, they cost about $7. I think if it's an oddball thread, the machine shop is probably the better way to go.

Thanks again,
-Rich