Do we need a term to mean techie-hacker in common english? Are most people able to draw any distinction between a techie-hacker and and other 'IT' person?

Nope. In the end, it won't do any good. Soon enough, the meaning of this new word would change, and gravitate once again towards the meaning that the word "hacker" is establishing for itself for the common people. It's this meaning that tickles people's fantasy the most, and that is the cause of the accent shift. Inventing yet another new word won't change this.