Oh my. Does that mean once I get it on I'm going to be taking it off to get it fixed again?

I ordered a starter to flywheel housing seal to replace the crumbled one I took off, so I'm hoping that difference in position makes just enough of a change to get the bolts threaded.

As best I can tell, this starter drive pulls the gear into the flywheel to start, rather than pushing it out into it. Given the placement of the flywheel and the shape of the drive, I don't think there's enough clearance for it to work the other way around. Am I just way off base here?