Bad slave cylinder?

[Frequentflyer]

Sat AM the temperature was in the 40's and all of a sudden my clutch pedal feels odd. Seems real loose in the first 3-4" of travel and then firms up. It also feels like it engages a bit lower than it used to within about 2" of the floor. In fact, I almost stalled the car this morning in first gear because of it. I drove about 25 miles and it didn't get any worse or better. I didn't have time to check fluid levels and for leaks because my wife and I were headed to the airport. I've got almost 221,000 miles on the car ('08); original clutch so considering some dudes have replaced their slave cylinders multiple times, I think I'm due (and lucky). I don't have problems getting it in or out of gear yet, although I have noticed more upshift grinds in higher gears possibly due to the slave cylinder being sluggish.

I just ordered the latest version of the part and a Clutch Master braided line. Hopefully it fixes my issues. Anyone have experience with the braided line instead of the OEM hardline?

[Frequentflyer]

Well I got the car up on ramps yesterday awaiting my parts. From what I can see from up top, I don't have leaking fluid from the slave cylinder, but I haven't gotten the underpan off yet for a good look. I really hope the issue is the slave and not the master.

It seemed to be worse yesterday when I drove it than the day before. The clutch is grabbing right off the floor and it is just starting to get a little difficult to get the shifter in and out of gear, although not getting a crunching noise yet.