on the "Third Boot" stage , it states:
"You must set your ALSA configuration for your particular radio at this time" - with no instruction on what that means or how to do it.

I followed a video online and got "alsa-show.sh" to show different values, I assume for the FT817.

You are not providing any information about which HF or VHF/UHF
radio on the FT817 you are using.

Assuming you want packet on your VHF/UHF radio working, like any TNC
or sound card you need to set the FM deviation properly.

There is a section on how to set your deviation here:
https://github.com/nwdigitalradio/n7nix/tree/master/deviation

You can run run draws-manager to help set that up.
Or you can set ALSA settings with the alsamixer program
Or you can run the setalsa-ft817.sh script

https://github.com/nwdigitalradio/n7nix/blob/master/docs/DRAWS_ALSA.md

Need help with: Do need the radio connect with control cable and
powered up during any of the DRAWS set-up?

No but the DRAWS hat needs to be installed. The left mDin6 connector is
direwolf port 0.

I can't figure out if I am supposed to try to get draws_manager to run
or not.

This was brought up in the forums last week:

https://nw-digital-radio.groups.io/g/udrc/topic/can_t_access_draws_manager/76528127?p=,,,20,0,0,0::recentpostdate%2Fsticky,,,20,2,0,76528127

# To install the latest version of draws-manager
cd
cd n7nix
git pull
cd manager
sudo su
./install.sh

I had it running in the past, but can't get it to run now and I read
it is not compatible with current sensor files.

That was fixed about 6 months ago

So, do I need it?

It is a nice tool to use.

Are there ways to change the same values without the web interface
(always fails to connect and went through other troubleshooting posted
here, gave up).

alsamixer
or
just run the script.
setalsa-ft817.sh

Do I need GPS working up-front?
I can run gpsd, and it is listed as active an running, but no
longitude or latitude shows up.

Not sure what you mean. gpsd is already running on the NWDR image.
If you want to verify the gps follow the examples under Check GPS

https://github.com/nwdigitalradio/n7nix/blob/master/docs/VERIFY_CONFIG.md#check-gps

I suspect DRAWS doesn't see the antenna.

It helps to put your antenna close to a window.

Do I focus on getting draws_manager to run or get the gps to report data?

Maybe someone can point me to a step-by-step walk through, but I
haven't found one.

The "Getting Started Guide" found in the wiki is the step-by-step guide
you want to use. There are a number of links in that guide for other
documentation for example under '3. Third boot' there is a link for
verifying your installation.

https://github.com/nwdigitalradio/n7nix/blob/master/docs/VERIFY_CONFIG.md

Be aware that you will probably need different alsa settings for the HF
radio FT817 and the vhf/uhf radio. Search the forum for your radio for
more hints.
https://nw-digital-radio.groups.io/g/udrc/search?q=ft817

If I remember correctly I had to remove pin 6 on the mDin6 connector to
get audio working on the FT-817. This was discussed on the forum here:

https://nw-digital-radio.groups.io/g/udrc/topic/33061161#4083