Have you still got the "gear map" stamped somewhere? It might just be a case of angles ...... that's what I found initially anyway
No worries. When i joined the forum a few yrs ago i was also a complete novice - this forum is a great source of info though, i've learned so much here. I would still class myself as "novice-ish" but these old busses are not hard to work on, if you can wield a spanner its not much too different to meccano Re your gear selection issues - mine was like this when i first got it.. lots of play, hard to find gears, punching the dash /hitting the handbrake lever etc! i replaced the front bush (missing completely) and the shift rod gear coupling (blocky type thing in front of the gearbox) which made a huge difference. I also fitted an aftermarket berg shifter with a reduced throw.. and then spend some time tweaking/adjusting the location of the base plate to find the sweet spot. Really nice now