'80 Gamefisher 7.5 Lower Unit Installation

[bsutravis]

1980 Sears Gamefisher 7.5
Model 217.585840

So I pulled the lower unit to replace the impeller, which was easy enough. Now I'm 6+ hours into trying to get the drive shaft to seat properly into the motor while at the same time getting the water tube into the pump housing. I've got the motor upside down and am having zero luck in hitting the mark. Is there any tricks to this? I've rotated the shaft multiple times hoping that it's just that the shaft grooves aren't mating up but I'm still not having any luck. Any advice or help?

Thanks.

 

[bsutravis]

After many hours I was able to get the lower unit to mate up with the motor.... now she's pumping water and runs like a champ!