extremely soft 2nd to 3rd shift

Ya, no offense taking. I talked to the owner about using a shift kit or installing one and he told me that it would cost me 150 to 200 bucks for him to install a shift kit and he said that he doesnt reccomend a shift kit because he can make adjustements to the valve body himself that would give me firmer shifts if thats what i'm after.
So I have been trying to figure out what shift kit to go with, I have looked at the ones from transgo and the ones from B&M. I'm not looking for the shifts that tear your head off, but would like a firm shift. Aparently all that was needed was the throttle valve cable adjustment, because i adjusted the cable out further and that made my 2nd to 3rd gear shift firmer again. And aparently my carburetor spacer has an affect on the shifts as well, because with the spacer the shifts feel better (firmer) and without the spacer they are softer. My thorttle valve cable is a nice tv cable, it's made by lokar and it cost me 80 bucks. But for now, i will just leave it alone and figure out what shift kit i want to go with and go about having it installed.