i have a Vdrive, but i had a similar problem. my cable had a tight bend in it when it was mounted to the cooling hose. i made a bracket for mine & mounted it under the deck in the starboard rear storage. this also isolated it from heat of the exhaust risers. here's a pic with the compartment divider down:
the servo should remove all the slack from the cable when the PP unit is powered up. there shouldn't be a "gap", but i don't think it's a big deal if there's a bend in the cable between the fittings, as long as the fittings are all pulled together when you're idling in neutral.