My key won't go all the way into the lock, so I attempted to try and get to it through the door panel. Well in the end nothing was accomplished, and now my arm rest on the door doesn't stay snug in place. Has anyone ever done anything that knows how to get it in place? Thanks.

There's really no trick to it, when you tighten the bolts it should fit perfectly against the door panel. You may want to take it off and try again. You may have cross-thread a bolt or didn't get one in all the way and that's why you're having a problem.