Kick-down linkage - where it oughtta be?

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   My Cougar has never downshifted when I hit the throttle, which of course doesn't help its slug-like performance :). I've been reading over all kinds of information on carbs, throttle linkages, etc., and learning a lot! 

One thing that really stands out at me - now that I know what I'm looking at - is how far away the kick-down linkage screw looks to be from the little tab that is on the throttle bracket. Not so much in terms of how the screw is positioned, but how the entire kick-down bracket (the black one, below) is positioned! 

The little grease stain on the back of the throttle tab suggests that it has hit the kick-down screw a few times in its life; however, it looks to me like, even at WOT, it will never reach it now! I didn't want to open up the throttle and test in case that's not good for it (will it hurt if the engine's not running? Should it be running to check this?). What does everyone think? If it is too far away, how do I adjust this linkage, and/or bracket, and will the spring on the front of it need changing? It definitely looks like the original spring that's on there...

Also, when setting the kick-down screw, the manual says to open the carb to WOT (but it doesn't say whether to have the car running or not), hold the kick-down rod past a detent in the transmissino, and set the screw to .010 to .080 away from the tab on the carb. Is that "detent" a noticeable notch feeling in the transmission? Can I push through this detent without hurting anything, and again, does the car need to be running or not?

Thanks as always for any help!