Hello friends, it's been a while since I last started a thread here, but I'm really at my wits' end and could use a little guidance from some transmission gurus.

I've got the whole powertrain out of my '82 T/A, and I took the opportunity to tear down the stock 200c to replace all the frictions and a few seals and filters, as well as do a shift kit in the valve body.

Everything's been done, except I cannot, for the life of me, get the direct-clutch housing to sit where it's supposed to when I drop it in. I can tell that it's bottomed out and that the shafts are making contact (i.e. none of the friction plates are in the way) but it's sitting 1-3/16" inches away from where the pump mounts up, and the rebuild manual says it's supposed to be 1-5/16" inches away. (i.e. it's too far forward/not in the case far enough)

The housing only sits the way it's supposed to when I completely remove this little plastic washer, the "Front Selective Thrust Washer" -- only then does the housing sit down the full 1 5/16" inches (measured with my digital caliper) that it's supposed to.

I'm including a couple of pictures to show what I'm talking about (part #632 in the ATSG manual)

So what's the deal here? This little plastic washer surely can't be "optional."

The only other thought I had was the other metal washer that goes under the snapring that holds the output shaft in could be too thick? -- it's got a spot of yellow paint on it which corresponds to a specific thickness.. but even the thinnest one in the shop manual is only maybe .010 thinner, which is a long ways off from getting me the full 1/8" I need... also I would think that altering that washer would introduce play into the output shaft.

Maybe I'm taking my measurements wrong?

Any help or guidance here would be awesome. Between Google and my two different shop manuals I'm not really finding a lot of info on this. Thanks!!