How can I get these nuts off of the throttle so I can slide in the kickdown linkage

There is a bit of sarcasm from certain folks here, you will learn the players quickly. How you will deal with them is up to you. Its like a car show, if you run into a person that rubs you the wrong way, just walk away or put on ignore. Welcome aboard, lots of knowledge and personalities here.

Very similar to hanging out in your or a buddy's garage giving each other ****. I sure hope the OP will stick with us while he gets help along with the sarcasm.

The magic question I ask at cruise-ins and car shows when some jerk comes up pointing out something "wrong" with my car is "where is your car parked, I'd like to have a look at what you drove". They usually walk away at that point :D