oh! yea one more thing to jwade944 you were correct also, the post on the shift lever is a little worn into an elliptical shape this tends to make shifting a little more difficult. to all out there if you are having trouble getting into gears you might need to replace your shift lever.good looking.thanks.

Congrats! Way to stay with it and work out the solution, I'm sure you will enjoy the car even more knowing you installed the trans yourself and have an in depth knowledge of the mechanical aspects. Keep in touch.
RS