Can't say 'I've fixed it' but I'll give you my thoughts.
First, I doubt if it's the Vee drive. Nothing in that drive is affected by the shifter.
Your mention of the shifter cone bears investigation. Those bearings do go bad, but fortunately not often. It sounds like that bearing is remaining loaded after shifting into fwd. It may have been doing this for a LONG time, hence contributing to the bearing getting noisy.
I'd try disconnecting your shift linkage and shifting it by hand. Idle at the dock should be fine. If you're on a mooring, moor by the stern. Once you're in fwd, see if loading up the shift lever causes/changes the noise. If it does, I'd say you know it's the bearing. If so, I'd try readjusting the shift linkage so the bearing isn't loaded when you're in fwd. Give you some time to shop for a new bearing.
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