Yes, a string attached to the float arm and threaded through one of the 5 holes. I've done this before and while it is crude it will allow you to be certain the float is rising. Sounds like the float is okay. Sorry Bartamos...I thought he said cork and rubber floats. My error.
One of the reasons I wanted you to check with the multimeter to know if your ground was good was to make certain you had the two wires positioned correctly (I suspect you do). On most multimeters there is a buzz sound you can use to see if you have a solid circuit. Disconnect the green wire, connect it to one of the multimeter leads, find the little buzz selection, connect the other lead to a known good ground spot and see if you hear the buzzer. Or if your meter doesn't have this function, the resistance should go close to 0 when you touch the other lead to ground.
