iTunes fails to sync with iPod Touch, suggests I should reset it to factory defaults
Can you tell us what version of iOS you're running? Unless it's really old, you can sync contacts to your iCloud account, and if you go to iCloud.com and log in with your Apple ID you'd see them. You can also do an iCloud backup. Regarding songs, how did you get them on your iPod initially? If they were already on your computer then you should be able to put them back again after the restore. If you purchased them through iTunes you should be able to re-download them for free.