I have the answer now.

Lee, many thanks for the manual. Everything is clear now. I'm screwed.

The manual shows the Gen II t-case where the idler gear (also called the counter gear) has a shaft with needle bearings. However in my t-case the idler gear is all one piece, with ball bearings pressed on the end. Also the gears in my t-case are considerably larger than the new gears.

Can anyone explain what happened?
Do you suppose that the U.S. had a differnet t-case than the rest of the world?
Has anyone put the gears in a Gen II t-case yet? which idler gear did you have needle bearings with shaft or ball bearings?

-Kirk