Ran the boat and seems to be working just fine now. The check valves that were used don't appear to be the correct ones for hydraulics. We swapped the other one out with a proper valve. I only have one check valve on the system now instead of 2.

I would think the parts / spring missing from the pictures above are caught in the filter.

Definitely going to want to find those pieces before they lodge in a port somewhere. Potential loss of steering at speed would not be good! Follow the hoses and check the fittings if not in the filter.

never seen the check valves in one before

I run one for each pump but I don't know how his is plumed in.