shift lever indicator waaay out of adjustment-FSM useless, Haynes wrong-help needed please!

I had the tranny for my 96 taco 2wd auto (2rzfe) x-cab out for RMS replacement. The instrument panel shift indicator vanished during that time.
I have a Haynes, it does not have an appropriate procedure for the set-up on my truck, even the reference pics are unhelpful due to differences in shift lever configuration.
the FSM says (repeatedly) in reference to shift indicator positioning, to adjust the shift lever at the transmission in this manner ( paraphrased somewhat because I'm unable to copy text from the pdf document):
a)loosen nut on manual shift lever. b) push control shaft lever fully forward c) return shaft lever 2 notches to N position d) set shift lever to N position e) while holding shift lever lightly toward the R position side adjust control shaft lever nut f) tighten control shaft lever nut . Tried the procedure, not a success. I can't seem to wrap my brain around it, especially those last two steps ( e and f ). I can't get the manual lever to move at all.
what I'm requesting here is for someone to walk me through the bare steps necessary to adjust the shift lever and indicator: this is a _column shift_ ! I would be eternally grateful for assistance here, you'll get a '5-star' Karmic rating plus a (figurative) pat on the back for doing such a good deed out of the kindness of your heart sorry, j/k. -that might be piling it on a li'l thick but, actually, I do mean it. Thank you for taking the time to read this, I appreciate it. And _much_ extra gratitude in advance to any who care to answer. . .... the truck can't start, much less be driven, if I can't 'get it in gear'

 

place the transmission gear shifter in park and " REMOVE THE KEY "
Throw the key on the drivers seat until your done .
Go to rear of truck and manually push it by hand to verify the truck is actually in park . Go back under the truck and check to see if the shifter cable lines up perfectly with the hole in the transmission lever . If it doesnt line up , adjust the shifter rod until it fits perfectly into the transmission lever .
Once the rod is aligned with the transmission shift lever , verify the truck will only start in park and nuetral .

Adjust everything while the transmission is in park and you will be good to go
Need help ? just send me a pm

 

excellent! thank you gearcruncher!- precisely what I asked for. I will be sending a pm. , might be one-two days, ok?