how can I tell if my cooling flaps are open?

not long ago I replaced the fanshroud and sand cleaned it and painted it. then I noticed that my thermostat connecting rod is mising and also that the cooling flaps are stuck. I fixed them so they can move but they are not attached to the Tstat. since it should be open if your Tstat is not working, I left them open when i mounted it back but now when i want to check that it didnt move- I'm not sure if when i'm inserting my hand to the back of the right side of the shroud - should i push the metal of the flaps (push it to the left side) or should i pull it? - so it would be open (i can feel also the small spring... if its spread what doea it indicates? I thouht it shouldnt be spread because the normal job of the spring is to ensure the flaps returning to their open postion...) thanks for any answer!