[mattfranklin]

Good news.

SHORT STORY: It popped into correct position with only light hand pressure, some assembly lube, and a small screwdriver poking in the right places.

LONG STORY: I was getting all psyched up to force it with the two screwdrivers. (I was not super hopeful because over the weekend I did a lot of straining and grunting doing almost the same thing, but prying with only one screwdriver or lightly taping with a brass hammer.) Tonight, as I prepared to make it happen I wanted to give it the best possible chance of happening. So I got out a little tub of Red Line assembly lube and put a dab on the leading edges of all three keys, then I manually put a little preload on the synchro with my right hand while pushing down on the leading edge of each key with a small straight blade screwdriver. The plan was to work my way all the way around before putting the big screwdrivers to it. When I was lubing and poking at the second key, the whole synchro snicked right into place with very little hand force. It surprised me how little force it took.

Anyway, thanks, KW, for the encouragement to use more force, and I wanted to let you all know how it turned out.