Kealinstillz

Alright everyone got a 05 Evo 8 with around 71k miles. Its been doing this for a little while now but I haven't really payed much attention to it because it still seems to drive fine. So here's what's going on. When I go to take off from a stop it seems that right when the clutch is starting engage it's a pretty loud squeaking noise that comes from what sounds like the driver side. It even does it when I slow down and down shift. One of my friends had told me he thinks it might be the throwout bearing(hints title) and then someone else had agreed with them and said theirs was going out on their car(different make and model than an Evo) and someone had told them that if there shifter was loose while in gear that was the problem. So I did this test and yes my shifter is kind of loose while in gear. My question is has anyone had this problem before or know what it might be? And what kind of damage it may cause if not fixed right away? Thanks!