I will keep giving it a shot and let you know, I do have the hanger closest to the downpipe removed and unhooked the two bolts in the bracket as well as the clamp to the turbo but still no luck so far.
SAME... it was a bitch for me too. It finally started to go on after I got them lined up and then started tapping the sides of the exhaust with a hammer (without damaging).. but holy hell it was way harder to pull the factory one off and slide the new one on than I thought it was gonna be