I think the governor control's rack and pinion system consists of a rack moved by the speed control cable, and a sector of a gear meshing with it (probably only a 45 degree sector, of fairly large radius, so the sector only rotates about 30 degrees for the full movement of the speed control cable). The sector will have a long arm projecting from it, and the 216 link will attach to a hole in the end of that arm. Your arm-and-sector part is probably still there, and it may only be necessary to re-attach the (repaired or replaced) 216 link to it. This should be a lot easier than setting up a manual choke. However a manual choke version of your engine does exist, and the relevant parts are shown in the illustrated parts list.

Here is the wiring diagram for your ride-on:
[Linked Image]

In my view, restoring the wiring to original is essential to make this mower work properly and safely.