okay, I figured it out as I was waiting for the images to upload in my last post. I decided to post it anyway and a picture of how I got around it, for posterity. used a scrap piece of hardwood, and put the housing on as much as I could to align it with the primary gear. then used the wood and a mallet to tap the misaligned gear into alignment and slid housing on to where it belongs. by the way, I forgot to mention this is a 1983 vt 750 engine. cheers to the wrenchers!