I just installed my MGW shifter yesterday. I left out the shift stops after reading in the manual about a bunch of warnings when using them. Are these aftermarket shifters more likely to bend shift forks without them?

 

no its just better because it protects the tranny from damage. Go out and set them its not hard to do at all.

 

The shift stops on the shifter only cause problems when they are mis-adjusted. Personally, I would just put them back on and make sure they are adjusted properly.