Well I managed to get a second steering cable hooked to the duel helm,and fished through to the engine with little incident.

I ran into a couple of issues back at the motor. The first being the steering tube bracket for the 2nd cable didnt line up with the holes in the 1989 XP.
There was a 1" difference.

A little fabrication later of a plate to which the bracket/tube was bolted solved that issue.
then connected the 2 cables togeather side by side with the OMC connector, and hooked up the drag link.

Everything turns smooth, but it seems the motor isn't turning all the way to either port or starbard.

It is like the link is too short to allow it. I moved it to the second hole in the steering arm as well, and gained a little, but still seems not quite right.