might be worth dropping the gearbox oil and putting some fresh in if that wasn't done when the clutch was done, and id still bleed the pedal because it's so easy and you only need some brake fluid.
mines a little hard to get the gears but I've put a short shifter and polly bushed the linkage. I did find when i did the first time I couldn't get any gears because I'd over tightened the bolts on the linkage