Ok, the washer trick did not work for me...I actually don't believe it should be working for anyone. Granted the threads on the strut end as the pictures eariler in this thread show, but the pictures do not show what the inside of the nut looks like. It has 1-2mm on the bottom end that are not threaded which allows it to tighten down completely whether you use extra washers or not. Additionally, this bolt has nothing to do with the new springs. It simply attaches the top of strut to the center of the spring mounting. Installing shorter springs shouldn't have any affect on this. If you removed this bolt from a non-lowered protege you would see the same gap between the end of the threading and where the cup-shaped washer sits.
Anyway, I guess my next step is to put my car back up on jack stands and pull the whole assembly out and make sure the rubber spring grommets were installed properly. Is there anything else I should be looking for?