crusin92red5.0

Alright so for the last two or more hours me and two buddy's tried putting this damn tail shaft on. The thing sticks up about an inch from the bottom and won't go any further. We all believe its hitting the rod that i took a picture of. i'm pretty sure its 5th gear but not certain. It doesn't look like the rod itself is centered in the hole that it comes out of. If anyone knows what i'm doing wrong i would appreciate the insight.

thanks, here are the pics of the rod and the part that its suppose to sit in.


Oh and i dabbed the rod with grease to see if it was aligning up and it does not. And i originally took the tailshaft off a month back to change the drive gear and i didn't lay a good bead down of rtv i guess cuz the thing leaked. i had absolutely no prob putting it on last time, so i don't know whats going on.