im putting in my rack, but i cant seem to get the splined pinion all the way into the collar, goes bout 1/2 way and will go no further,,is the collar keyed? am i missing something? its on jack stands, perhaps thats causing the issue and once i get it back on the ground it will close the gap?

you can always trust a dishonest man to be dishonest, honestly, its the honest ones you need to look out for. you never know when they will do something..stupid