What the forklift is this gold piece on my push/pull connector?
That's a cable grip used for internal strain relief.

After the terminations have been made the clip is placed around the outer insulation, crimped - biting the insulation with the teeth - and the cable strain relief is then tightened. It prevents the cable being yanked out of the connector.



Figure 1. The set screw is used to grip the clamp.

The assembly diagram shows the connector during assembly. Once the P shell unit is soldered on the plug body and cord bushing are slid down over the clamp and P shell. The set screw (1) is then tightened against the clamp (2) to grip the outer insulation and eliminate stress on the conductors and solder connections.