short shifter

I bought an Ebay $12 shifter for my 96 Civic Ex, and I am having some trouble with it. First of all, my friend, who was helping me out while I was under the car held the shifter backwards while I bolted it up, which sucks. I also left out the rubber cup which I assume fits over the shift ball, because my friend said that he left his out on his '97, and just used the little plastic collar thing. The result is that my shifter works; however, is not only backwards, but it is also very loose (I move it up and down quite a bit) and it rattles badly.

Obviously I am going to redo the whole thing, my question is about the "bushings" you guys are referring to. Is this the bushing that fits inside the end of the shifter, or is it the cup that holds the ball joint? Also, I used the two included washers in between the end of the shifter and the fork of the shift linkage. Will installing the oem rubber cup next time take the play out of my shifter, or is there something I'm missing?

thanks