Sorry it took me a while to get back, I was having computer issues.

Yes, they are manuals. The ring gear was 50% in the worst spot and the wear pattern seemed normal. The last starter chewed up the tops of all the teeth so now I'm thinking it might need a ring gear.

I'd seen on one other forum that someone mentioned using a starter with 10 drive teeth instead of 9. That would increase the diameter of the drive and make it engage deeper......

My boss is a cheap stake so only the minimal will be done. As it is, the stater was off for a month and a half before we started getting parts. That's just because he wants it out of the shop so we can pull other stuff in...