Quote:

the front bearing retainer is against the back of the bell housing just not lining up with the bell housing.



If its in that far the the shaft has to be in the pilot bearing by now.

The disk must not be centered. Hook up all the linkage and have someone depress the clutch while you line up the trans.

Get yourself 2 or 4 LONG bolts of the same size that bolt the trans to the bellhousing. Cut off the heads and file slots in each that will take a screwdriver. Screw them into the bellhousing and use them to both support and align the front of the trans (DO NOT "hang" the whole tranny on them). Once the trans is in replace one at a time with the proper bolts.