Disregard. Sorry, I spoke to soon. The time it took for me to close up my work trailer, cross the street, leave this plea for help here, and then return to my trailer for more head scratching, I realized what was wrong.
I had thought I'd be smart by using a ratchet strap with hooks positioned under each fork end tied up through the tree to load the fork and raise the wheel. Well, that worked fine for removing and installing the wheel, but apparently, even with my efforts to make it symmetrical, it still was torquing over the tubes, creating a misalignment. As soon as I released it the axle went through, perfectly.
Thank Bob, I appreciate having your ears nearby.
Angelo
