Where do the outter and inner shifter levers align on the shifter shaft. my inner lever won't stay in place when I tighten the bolt.

 

They don't alien anywhere. You adjust them according to your personal preference. Or I am not understanding the question correctly?

 

It sounds like the lever worked loose at one point and once they loosen up a little the vibration causes the splines to wear down. The easiest fix is to replace the shift lever.

 

The shifters align with the bolts that tighten them up. There is a groove machined in the splined shaft that accepts the bolt thereby locating the shift lever. You may be able to salvage the shifter by closing the gap by tightening the bolt while the lever is removed from the bike. You can then carefully re-cut the gap with a hack saw or the equivalent. Be sure to check the bolt - it may bottom out on the shank before the gap closes. The best remedy is to simply replace the lever. If you do replace it don't forget to chase all of the threads with a tap before you install it or you'll gall the threads for sure.

 

Or you could tap it with the arc welder alittle,if you do,be sure to disconnect your ground cable first.

 

a manual would help you too

 

your shifters are probably good, you can replace the rod for about 20 bucks, at least thats what i had to do.

 

It could be either the shifter OR the shaft itself, easy to figure out. Whichever it is, pony up and get new parts. Rigging it isn't worth it.

 

best to replace shifter and maybe shaft. once the shifter is tightened it will stretch