All credit goes to my wife for this one. After throwing a LOT of money towards the passenger side heat issues, she noticed that the drIver's side also needed help. I showed her the holes around the pedals and steering shaft and explained that most seem to use tape and foam to plug the holes but there didn't seem to be a neat and easy fix around the steering shaft.
After poking around the shop for a few minutes this is what she came up with: Take a standard size foam paint roller cover and cut approximately 3 7/8" off the end. Then cut it once lengthways so that it can be slipped over the shaft just below the joint, pushing the other end through the firewall. Using 2 1.5-2.5" hose clamps moderately tighten down to hold the cover together. Don't tighten too much or you can deform the plastic liner. All you are trying to do is get it tight enough to be a solid tube again. The bonus is the worm gear mechanism will keep the tube from slipping too far forward.
Works great and has no binding against the steering!