Thanks for the links! I decided to find out what was causing the rubbing noise behind my steering wheel on my 03 CVT Insight and did the following:
1. I removed the steering column cover/trim by removing the three bolts and removed the lower cover.
2. I then took a peek at the steering column shaft by basically standing on my head underneath the dash.
3. And what did I find? Low and behold, the ignition switch wire harness was draped over the top of the steering shaft, making the rubbery wire harness sheath rub heavily against the steering shaft with the harness connected to the adjacent fusebox on the drivers side kick panel. The harness was pulled pretty tight against the steering shaft while connected to the fusebox.
4. The fix: I disconnected the ignition switch harness from the fusebox and re-routed the harness underneath the steering shaft instead of over the top of it. I then reconnected the harness to the fusebox, reinstalled the steering column cover and all is well. Plenty of slack in the harness and no more interference with the steering shaft. The steering wheel turns much more freely now without any binding.
5. I took several pics. of the fix along the way if anyone is interested.