Ok this job was crazy simple, if you are mechanically savvy enough to remove and replace a starter you are more than capable of replacing the contacts. I'll share a couple of pointers from when I did this job but it's real straight forward and Tim's article hits all the high notes.
First, that starter rebuild kit I bought was basically worthless. The plunger was too long and one of the replacement contacts had a weird crescent moon shape to it. I imagine this contact would have been fine on either side but it didn't seem to fit well and since only one of my contacts was worn I cleaned up the other one, hit the old plunger with a little bit of sandpaper and electronic cleaner to get the shine back and used that. If I were to do it again, I would just buy this
bag of contacts and call it a day.
There is a thin wire on one side of the contacts, be real careful not to hit or sever this wire. It's attached to a little plate that goes between the contact and the back of the bolt. This little plate was stuck to the bolt pretty good, I used a small tip screw driver in there and gently pried it apart. After that its remove, clean, and replace, being mindful of the order everything goes back together.
The whole job, including pulling the starter and putting it back in, took a little over an hour, but I took pictures and got a little OCD about cleaning the starter while I had it out. I took it to OReilly's and they must have tested it about 5 times and said it passed every time. I threw it back in my van and she started right up and my code 12 is now gone so totally worth it in my book.