I followed your guys instruction, and put the negative on the bell housing, and the positive on the protruded bolt comming from the starter. When I turn the ignition on, lights come on, but the engine wont even think about turning over....I'm about positive the terminals are in the right spot, could there be a different problem here...? The starter worked fine before taking out the transmission, so im pretty sure its not bad, who knows. any ideas?

 

have you try to jumping the starter

 

Here's a pic. If your wires are hooked up like this then maybe you cracked a wire. They can be brittle and break at the terminal end and the insulation will still be in tact.

 

that's a simple problem...the wire that runs from your ignition that gives the starter power to turn is either loose/not on. It should be a black wire that comes out of the harness at the same place the positive cables come out. Hook that back up on the blade that is on the starter, and you're set.