The new(er) spring is about 1/2" taller than my old, broken and welded spring.
Remove the four phillips screws on the outer sides of the console, unscrew the shifter knob, remove the four 12mm bolts holding the shifter sealing boot down, lift the shifter sealing boot upwards and then press downward on the retainer and turn a quarter turn, and then lift the shifter straight up and out. I can see why Brent said these springs only come as a part of new shifter assembly.
The lower metal ball of the shifter is a part of the metal shifter shaft and the upper shifter (that has the threaded end for the shifter knob) appear to be attached by molded rubber to the bottom and doesn't appear to separate.
I decided to chuck-up the upper part of the shifter in my vice (with leather padding) and was able to, literally, screw the old spring off and the new spring back onto the shaft. Greased the ball and shifter tip and re-installed.
New spring is now installed and I can feel a slight improvement in the spring tension when shifting to reverse. I was finally able to put my console back together so the inside of my truck looks "normal" again.