73 Coronet steering column not going back together?

[Gp911]

Hey all,

So I was trying to replace my ignition and turn signal switches in the Coronet and I've hit a snag. The collar with the ignition won't quite mate back up with the shifter collar. I mistakenly pried them about 1/8" apart before realizing I was separating the wrong collars. Now they won't go back together, which means the shift indicator won't fit and everything seems just a little off. Any idea what may have happened and how I might fix it? I tried tapping on it with a hammer but that just knocked the paint off the rim of the collar. I have shop manuals for the car with exploded views of the column but I just can't see what the issue could be aside from maybe my prying damaging the threads on the screw holding the two pieces together? No idea.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[Coronet 14]

Did you loosen up the screws between the lock housing and shift housing collars and try to reposition the collar. Is it the lever and pin assembly for the shift gate that won't line up.