Hello Timmus,
I recently did a gearbox upgrade, my gearbox is MAL.
Unlike MAL gearbox, MZN has an additional connector - neutral position signal, so no significant / mechanical difference.
That gearbox will fit an AMF engine with mods that you mentioned.
I reused the original starter motor, mine is Bosch.
I reused selector lever (6X0711051C) from the EWQ to clear the starter motor.
I also reused shaft flanges from the EWQ gearbox.
Gear linkage do not need customisation, bracket bolts on the same location, one additional part needed is cable end Topran 116351755.
The only problem that I had was (this may be because I used EWQ gear lever): MAL/MZN gearboxes are approx. 1 cm shorter (measured from the bellhousing to the gear cover) than EWQ, we had to cut a part of the gearbox mount 8Z0199543A so that the cable end could clear the mount when shifting into the 2nd gear.
After all the work I'm happy with the result. It takes a few miles to get used to the new gearing, but imho, it's worth it.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Neo