Nope. There's a shaft inside a shaft. The larger outer shaft is for the gear selector. The smaller diameter inside shaft that sticks up above the outer shaft is for the kickdown/throttle pressure linkage.
Like Lonewolf said if you don't hook up the kickdown/throttle pressure linkage you'll smoke the trans. because it controls clutch pack and band servo pressure. In a sense it's a "smart valve" because when your not giving the car much throttle it doesn't send full pressure to the clutch packs and bands so the shift isn't harsh. When you floor it the pressure to the clutch packs and bands increases to handle the extra horsepower delivered to it so they don't slip and that extra pressure also makes it shift firmer. In addition, it works in conjunction with the governor to regulate the shift speeds and without it you'll have no kickdown when you mash the pedal.