Lakewood Bellhousing Headaches HELP!

I am working on my 68 Dart 383/4 speed conversion. I mounted my 15330 Lakewood bell yesterday, used the starter adapter kit provided. What happened. The starter engage the flywheel, but won't retract. Took the mopar mini starter off, tested, and worked fine. Back on adjusting the starter position, same problem. Wondered if anyone else had this problem.

Next, I have all the mechanical linkage for the setup, but after reading several posts on the nightmare of lakewoods and linkage, I am considering an American powertrain hydraulic unit. I would love to run the mechanical stuff, but would love to know the pros and cons of each.
Please help anyone! Losing the excitement of the swap quickly. Thanks.