Got it. Apparently all the tapping I did on the rod to get the heat riser valve loose mashed the gap closed. I used a small straight screwdriver and opened it up with that a bit. Then I could see the slot on both sides and the end. The broken piece of the old spring was in the slot, and it came out after I widened it a tad. Slipped the new spring in and closed up the gap with my pliers. The spring was 1/4 to 1/2 turn to connect it on the pin. Now for the acid test. As in, what did I mess up somewhere else while doing this job? I'll let you know how it goes, but the good news is, the flap is free and the bi-metallic coil is on.
Glad you got it installed.
The bad news is probably that you installed the coil backwards. It's just an 80% chance of that.
