where can i find my keys in multibit to at least manually note them as a backup?
Use these instructions, but click the button labelled "export to". A pop up window should open which you can use to select the folder you want your .key file written to, and what name you want to give your .key file. Each .key file contains a private key.
Start multibit, select the wallet containing your coins, then click "tools", then select "export private keys" as shown in the screenshot.

A new tab should open like the one below. Select "do not password protect export file" at the bottom of the window, then click the "export private keys button".

Inside the folder you selected there should be a new file with an extension ending in ".key". Open it in notepad and copy your wallet's private key. In the example file below the private key is the bit in red.
# KEEP YOUR PRIVATE KEYS SAFE !
# Anyone who can read this file can spend your bitcoin.
#
# Format:
# [[]]
#
# The Base58 encoded private keys are the same format as
# produced by the Satoshi client/ sipa dumpprivkey utility.
#
# Key createdAt is in UTC format as specified by ISO 8601
# e.g: 2011-12-31T16:42:00Z . The century, 'T' and 'Z' are mandatory
#
KwUVsx4nd4UTHUtNTPnLEEqapCFvNiBrVASBZPa1ZvStQbUD87VK 2017-03-26T01:36:45Z
# End of private keys