My wallet hurts..

Ugh, the starter just went out in my car a couple of days ago. Just got the rebuilt one installed today. Car is starting/running like a champ, but my shifter feels real stick between 1st and 2nd and between 2nd and 3rd. is that just because i haven't driven it in a while?

also, i removed my heat shield a week or so ago, and was wondering what exact purpose the little black box served for my intake (i have an intake kit installed and it has that little hose going to the black box). some sort of intake air control to control volume? I noticed the box was connected to a vacuum run diaphram kinda like hondas....

black box is your AIV, it brings unburnt exhaust back into your intake

and the prob with your gears, might be your syncros