The way I temporarily reinstalled the ball is; after the big threaded sleeve was installed, I inserted the ball, then the spring, rotated the shaft til I got a detent and installed the cap. Everything felt good after that, I have my two detent positions that I didn't have before. Is that about right?

I'm still going to order up another ball, (maybe this one is wrong one or slightly out of round) and the gaskets...

got the 80w-90 GL-4 oil, NAPA was kind enough to order it for me (Sta-Lube)... thanks for all the help