I would not dream of taking any form of payment for advice Luke;
If he did not remove the gear lever from within the car (which is the correct and easiest method) then he must have removed the bridal from the gearbox from underneath which is held on with 4 bolts.
He also would have had to remove the bolt and nut which connects the gear lever to the gearbox linkage.
On assembly, I just can not figure how he could go wrong, unless he has lost the bush/bushes from the base of the gear lever where it joins the linkage.
i will dig out a few schematics for you and post up.
Alex.