So what exact issue is he shown being released from his cell and putting a suit on to run the joint?
We never see Osborn being released. He tells us about it when he first appears in the Ruins of Ravencroft: Dracula prelude. In the Ravencroft miniseries Osborn was a consultant at Ravencroft, though in what official role is never made clear. Fisk was acting Director of Ravencroft in the miniseries until issue 5, when he achieved his goal of defeating the Unwanted at Ravencroft. We don't see Osborn explicitly named Director after that. It apparently happened between the end of the Ravencroft miniseries and Osborn's next appearance in Amazing Spider-Man 46, where, again, Osborn tells us that it has happened, though this time Norah Winters confirms it. Osborn's dialog in that issue implies that he has made changes to procedures and staffing at Ravencroft since taking over.
I remember when the mini was first announced and first started coming out, there were interviews and such about it where the editors were commenting that it was a big deal because Ravencroft was going to be featured in a big way in later plans. They didn't specify ASM specifically, but they did make a point of indicating that the RAVENCROFT mini was going to be 'important' in setting up future stories and wasn't just a standalone project.
Unfortunately it seems like they didn't ring that bell loud enough though, since this thread makes it clear that a lot of people missed the message.
The Ravencroft stuff is pretty cool but the editors should be wise enough know that major plot points in Amazing Spider-Man, consistently one of Marvel's core titles, shouldn't be occuring in random mini-series. Even an editor's note is insufficient. The real solution would've been to let Ravencroft readers get the initial surprise, and then slap a few pages explaining/showing/adapting Norman getting the job into ASM. But do that before Sin's Rising starts. Now people just reading the run are going to witness a massive out of nowhere jump in a character's status quo and be confused.
I don't blind date I make the direct market vibrate