Nothing you mentioned makes it sound like some nervous high-strung race car, just a nicely updated 122. Does it have an overdrive (M41) transmission? That is a really nice addition to any old Volvo, especially ones with more than the original dose of HP.

The only advantage to the remote shifter is in ergonomics - a foot long lever with shorter throws is a bit nicer to use than the 2 1/2 foot long broomstick on the standard 122/PV gearbox. Some models seem a bit more prone to getting floppy, but the long levers can get floppy with wear too.

PS - something to check on is if the front rotors were replaced with 1800E/ES units as well to consolidate all 4 corners on the new bolt pattern. The 122 originally came with 4.5 inch, the 1800ES (and 140s, 240, etc) have a smaller 4.25 (??) pattern.