Here is the adjuster assembly on my 93 with the lock tab (U pin) in the up, or unlocked, position. The lock tab on this vehicle is plactic and just to the right of the rusty spring in the pic. There is also a metal one a little closer to the end of the cable which is for cable mounting.

I adjusted the shifter in my 90 which is a bit more unique than others as it has a 97 drtvetrain and a Trofeo shifter. My problem here was that with the floor shifter in overdrive, the trans barely engaged in OD. I almost had to release the shifter and set it between OD and Drive to fully engage. I used the instructions from my 93 manual which is posted above except I placed both the trans and shifter in OD instead of Neutral. Once the lock tab was seated again, I tested through all of the shift positions. All was good.

Next, I tried small adjustments with my 93 without removing from park. This is what we were discussing at the begining of the thread. Due to the design of the adjuster assembly, my original method of pulling outward (away from the trans) is correct. The adjustments do not increase or decrease the size of the cable housing or sheath but instead move the entire cable/housing end forward or back.

When adjusting it on the transmission can you feel is go into each gear so i know i am putting it int he correct one? Hope i ma not being a pain, i just cant afford too have 2 cars not drivable [/b]

You can either adjust it while it'* in park by lifting the lock tab, pulling back a little, reseating the lock tab and test [repeat if necessary]. Or you can adjust it by using the instructions from the manual by lifting the lock tab, manually shifting the trans (Park click, Reverse click, Neutral click) and the gear selector to Neutral and reseating the lock tab. Test afterwards.