kier, first off, you gotta get yourself some spanners mate.
go to repco and get yourself a reasonable 1/2 inch drive socket set and a set of ring spanners/open enders combo. $50 odd for the socket set and $30 for the ring spanners.
the starter motor is below the motor, either bottom left or right and is bolted to the trans bell housing usually by 2 bolts. easy to remove,dont drop it. take it out and take it to your local auto electrician to test/repair.they can be tricky beasts to DIY.
on your transmission it sounds like the bands need an adjustment, you can do this yourself but you will probably need a manual or someones advice.
whitcoulls sell very good repair manuals.
go to nite school and do a car fixerupper course
i have "the penguin book of the car" and "readers digest repair manual"here.i was going to chuck them but they are yours if you want them.good for people starting out..sing out