Well that's a good question maybe. Yes, I had jacked up the front end and put it on jack stands before I unbolted everything. I knew i was going under the car to disconnect the speedometer cable.

So I think I lowered it, not sure, before trying to bolt it up.

Based on your comment, I watched a cool video from the late 60s, early 70s on the collapsible steering column in Pontiac cars.

Anyway, maybe decreasing the load by jacking it up might help?