Hi, is it possible to hookup a 5" tft display directly to a mega2560 without using a shield? If I run wires to the correct locations will it work or will I ruin the display?
If it can't be done what components would I need so I can?
No, you cannot wire it directly as the LCD's operate at 3.3 volt logic levels, the Mega is a 5 volt device.
Shields provide the necessary level translation between the two logic levels. There are shields that add 10k resistors in series with each signal line to lower the 5 volts to 3.3 but this is a crude and some times a problematic approach. This is especially true when there is an SD card on the lcd board as the newer cards need signals with sharp edges (fast rise and fail times), resistors do not provide this. The better shields use level translating IC's and these are easy to identify on the shield with a just a visual check.
The only exception to the rule of being able to be wired directly is the Due since it is a 3.3 volt device and all I/O is at 3.3 volts.
If you're set on doing this yourself, the ElecFreaks website has schematics showing the needed connections and the ic pin connections. That said, an $8 shield will save you tons of time and make a neater, more compact job than you can do yourself.
I wish I did this project with a due but then I would have issues with everything else. 
I plan to make my own PCB for the other companents and connectors I require, it would have been nice to plug the display directly into it and elliminate the TFT shield, I wanted to keep this as thin as possible. Oh well, I'll forget about it on this project, thanks for the reply.