Sir thank you very much for taking the time to reply. The water pump is already on, and the new seals installed so it's all fairly tight. Plus there's a brand new spring inside the prop shaft which is expect is very hard to compress.
The cam. I didn't make notes when I took the original out, except that the original had severe wear, like deep grooves from the prop shaft pin. The new cam has 3 nice slots at different extensions where I figure the prop shaft pin will set as forward, neutral, and reverse is engaged. I believe that as the shift shaft is rotated counter-clockwise, the cam will push the shaft pin harder, i mean it will compress the shaft pin spring.
I will take you advice and try again tomorrow. Thank you. What gear do you recommend I engage as I lift the lower unit back into the engine?