Installing the engine/trans as a unit with the front end sheet metal in place is a real challenge. That's why most folks move the trans back a few inches and support it on a jack or wood blocks while getting the bellhousing down onto the crossmember, then install the transmission. Good on ya for being persistent!
Jerry

"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!