I decided to verify what my owners manual for my 96 SE says. For the 5speed manual transaxle it says simply "Mercon ATF". Thats it.

Is it possible the addition of friction modifer in later model contours and cougars was a mistake (or rather, something ford later found out wasn't right), and thus the reason for the TSB to use Ford Honey instead? Date of manuals recommending FM so far = 1999, 2000. Date of TSB = early 2000

More to think about. This is very intriguing.