Yes the male fitting closest to the transom is the pressure side. A couple things. First look over to the right of those fittings where the steering cable go's through. See the 2 flat areas on that round tube, they need to be facing straight up and down. Loosen the big nut to the left where the steering cable attaches to that tube then put a wrench on those flat areas and hold them stright up and down while tightening the steering cable nut. Make sure that the cable nut is tight. Grab the black plastic on the cable and make sure there is no play back and forth. If this does not help, while the engine is running, have someone push on the outdrive to put some resistance on it to activate the assist. Another way to do it is by pushing or pulling on the steering cable while turning the wheel with the engine running. The steering must feel resistance for it to work. If it works doing this, then your problem is your steering cable is to free. I have found a few boats with this problem. The new flat rack steering systems do not have enough resistance in them to activate the control valve. The rotarys with the No Feed Back system work great. Good luck.