37mark sorry i took a look at my carb on my 66 i was wrong it has a hole in the top of the front of the top of it but no felt or anything . there is a one way valve/flapper in there cause i rebuillt the carb and remeber that. i have a old ford 2 bbl carb in my pile and it has the little felt piece on the top of it. probably keeps the gas from sloching out. i wouldnt worry about it.
also thught about your shifer trouble. what would happen if you took the shifer arm on the tranny and flipped it around so it points the other way. that may solve your problem.