coming up long (shift rods)

After you find the proper plate and mount the shifter on it. I've found with my early a-body shifters, the 1/4" drill shank in the shifter levers trick doesn't work with the reverse lever. Maybe I've done something wrong, but I always adjusted the forward gear selection levers with the pin engaged, but not inserted in the reverse lever. I adjusted the reverse lever separately.

Reverse lever does not have a hole or notch all the time. You can use the outside edges for those.