98 RL Torque Converter Seating

98 Acura RL 3.5 Auto Trans :ugh:
We changed the Rear Main Seal and now can't get the converter to sit below the bell housing. Initially, the torque converter was quite a bear to pull out, but we were able to muscle it out...not sure if that has anything to do with it. Confession: the first attempt to mount the tranny back to the engine, there was about a 3/16" gap and we did the forbidden "pull" method with the bolts and brought it in byt tightening the bolts...needless to say the crankshaft was locked up when attempting to turn it over with a ratchet on the main pulley. So we pulled it out, and there is no visible damage to the trans pump or the gears in the torque converter snout...everything appears to be copacetic. So we have tried and tried to seat the converter but never get past that 3/16" standoff outside the bellhousing. As far as we can tell it's stepped in 3x...and we have gone through the seating process nearly ten times. Any insights?

I will post a link to a youtube video of our problem shortly (it's currently uploading)