Sloppy shifting and problems with reverse lights

[livelyjay]

Guessing Dee will be the most helpful on this one. My CA18DE FWD transmission conversion on my CA16DE engine has been a success, but the shifting doesn't feel crisp. The transmission shop that cleaned it up told me the selector rod was bent and they replaced it with a used one. I think they just used a hammer to get it back into decent shape. Here are my issues:

1) Selecting gears feels a bit weird, and I have to hunt for third gear. It's not a natural shift like in all my other cars.
2) The reverse lights go on with the lever is all the way to the right, but when I put it into reverse, the lights go out.

If the rod isn't straight, could that be causing both my problems? I bought a new position sensor but haven't installed it yet and it came with what looks like a floating selector pin. If the rod is bent, could it be putting that pin in the wrong place? How can I get these problems resolved? The transmission needs a rebuild because it's whining (slightly when driving, more so when decelerating in gear) and the 1st gear synchros are shot, so might the shop be able to fix the problems then?