1996 Wellcraft Excel 23SE Shift Cable Replacement Problem

[terrencemc]

Hi all, I'm a new owner of a 1996 Wellcraft Excel 23SE with a new(er) 5.7 Mercruiser AlphaOne. The shift cable is jacked up at the controller which is the original OMC concealed side mount from 1996. I haven't been able to find a number on the engine end of the cable, and I haven't been able to pull the shift cable off the controller yet to look at that end, because I can't get the control box out of the gunwale. I found a parts diagram for the controller, but I just can't figure out how they got this thing in there. I can get the handle off and I can remove the neutral only button and the surround, but it's stuck. Too wide. I thought I'd be able to drop it into the sleeping berth so I could remove the cable, but nope. Has anyone ever done this? I don't want to replace the controller or chop up the gunwale.