When it says to push the motor on the gear side, I would just push on the gear on the motor. Try pushing it and hitting the forward button, you should be able to feel if it is trying to turn.

The reason for this is one of the connections is on the back of the motor and it makes a connection by a piece of metal similar to how a battery does. If the metal tab isn't making connection, that might be your problem.

As for the clip, just make sure both the hooks are on the metal bar and snapped in place. I think you have a connection problem somewhere.