Throttle Cable Linkage

[I'D RATHER B FISHN]

I just hooked up my 125hp Merc ELPTO. The manual said to push the gear shifter towards the reverse gear until i felt resistance and then to measure the distance between the mounting stud and the throttle barrel housing. Then take the gear cable and push it in until i feel resistance and adjust the throttle barrel to distance measured earlier. I followed those steps and then mounted the gear cable. There were no specific instructions for the actual throttle cable. I took the boat for a spin Sunday and the throttle seemed to be somewhat hard to advance, reverse felt fine. Also when I would accelerate it would seem as if the motor would jam into gear and accelerate instantly as opposed to a slow accleration while I advanced the throttle handle. Could this be because I have the gear barrel housing to the mounting stud measurement wrong? Thanks,

Mike