Depends on what manual you ordered. If Seloc or clymer, no help.
Remove the back cover, and have someone shift gears into forward, neutral and reverse and see if the shift mechanism goes all the way into forward and/or reverse (after they shift it, continue turning the shift mechanism. If it doesn't move further in that direction, it's ok)
PS: Heres a link to the OEM manual, have a look at the Sterndrive removal and installation section.
