If statement for serial display project

You really need to post your entire code. Whatyou show us is not nearly enough to determine what you need to do.

That being said, here's a general idea.

Start with the current gear position in a variable called something like currentGear
When you change to another gear, place the new value into a variable called something like newGear
Then check for what direction it shifted.
If newGear still equals currentGear, do nothing.

  if ( currentGear < newGear ) {
    // scroll right
  }
  if ( currentGear > newGear ) {
    // scroll left
  }
  currentGear = newGear;