Hi James,
I don't think you have such a thing as a stock Volkswagen 4-speed cable shifter. The "cable shifter" is not a VW device. In fact, none of the 550 shift mechanism layouts are a stock VW device. (Remember, the trans is backwards located from a VW, and the shift pattern at the tailshaft is reversed from 'normal', so a custom non-stock solution must be applied in order to end up with familiar H-pattern at the knob.)
Your 2010 might have been originally provided with a Jamar https://www.cbperformance.com/product-p/6218.htm tail shaft adaptor (that reverses the shifter action) and could have been connected maybe a stock VW floor shifter box via a long rod under the trans and engine, with probably a few universal joints along the way.
Some owners had difficulty with the Jamar. But once they were properly adjusted, they were trouble free and smooth shifting. But there came a time when it became popular for owners who couldn't get the hang of adjusting their hard-connected linkage to replace their "old school" shifter with cable shifters.
There are several aftermarket cable shifter "kits" and shifter box configurations, not counting the home-made variations on the theme. Brandwood https://www.pacificcustoms.com...-cable-shifters.html is one of the popular cable shifter conversions.
In the end, nothing you do will make your spyder shift with the snick-snick-snick like a Miata, or some such. There is literally a near century-wide chasm between original VW and new showroom mechanicals.
So, post some pictures of what you have, and the folks here can identify it, and maybe suggest how to tighten it up or replace it.