Is it important
 

As you know my steering is hard to turn, when I changed the cable about five years ago I did not install the plastic tube that goes on the end, is ghost important? What does it do, it doesn't look like it would do anything

on the helm end? Keeps dust and dirt out of the helm

I never put it on I wonder if that's why my steering is so hard

I doubt it... 9 times out of 10 it's the tilt tube.

It's not the tilt tube cause I had that replace about 5 years ago plus the motor moves freely when disconnected I have to disconnect it from the helm and see if the helm is hard or the cable, I hope it's not the cable

That still doesn't eliminate teh tilt tube. If a regular steel tilt tube was put in it, then I've seen 2 year old engines rust solid in the tilt tube. Disconnecting the linkage from the engine takes the tilt tube out of the equation, so that doesn't eliminate anything either except for the engine pivot points. The only way to know if it's the tilt tube, is to remove the steering cable from the tilt tube itself.

Yup this^

I still get the sense that you have not taken the cable all the way out of the tube yet. Probably you have to move the motor to get the cable out but that is the next step.