I finally was able to finish my differential install tonight. I had to put it off for a few days because of the snow we recently had in NJ. Taking that break was probably the best thing I could have done. Everything literally FELL into place tonight. I spent the last few days pretty much strategizing and trying to figure out what was wrong. I have to thank David Norris again because his writeup helped me in the end. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE OUTPUT SHAFT IN CORRECTLY. I had the wrong splines on the wrong sides which was not allowing my differential to seat completely. Needless to say, I pulled it apart and had everything back in and the wheel on in two hours. I could probably complete the job again in about 3 hours if I had to. Most of the time was spent disassembling it for the first time and figuring out which angles to use to approach things. It's not that bad of a job at all with the trans in the car, and I didn't lower the cradle at all. Just follow Dave's writeup step by step and you'll be fine.
It's very important to hold the driver side axle from underneath as you're tapping the differential into place. It'll be hard to get it to lock otherwise, as the CV will act like a spring. It's so cool to have completed this in the driveway, I'm too used to having the conveniences of a shop and forklifts. All I needed were 13mm, 15mm, 22mm, and a 36mm socket for the axle nut. It's not that hard of a job at all. THANK GOD IT'S OVER, I'm becoming all too familiar with the internals of my transmission.
Much love for all you GP guys and Trannyman95.
** On a separate note, if your differential housing literally doesn't slip right into place, something is wrong internally. Initially I had a 1/4 inch gap between the diff housing and the trans. As I mentioned above, the output shaft was in the wrong way. OOOPS. DO NOT TIGHTEN DOWN the housing unless it is seated flush against the transmission!!! **