Nissan Repair: 1999 nissan altima TDC & timeing, crankshaft pulley, crank pulley

Question
I'm having trouble knowing if I  placed no.1 piston on tdc and what else may need to be all so placed at tdc repair manual said one thing and auto store says different 2.4 Nissan altima 99, timing chain was only moved with crank pulley and not taken off but little flaps on side are not pointing exacly opposite of each other on far left passanger side wich I belive to be piston 1

Answer
when in doubt follow the manual.  #1 cylinder is the one on the passenger side, rotate the crankshaft until it is at the top, there is a pointer on the front cover that will line up with the mark on the crankshaft pulley.  rotor in the distributor will point to the #1 tower in the distributor cap.