advice getting column together

I took apart my floor shift column to replace the turn signal switch. Almost everything has gone back with the exception of the two pieces under the steering wheel. The two black bolts that apparently hold the half's together slide in but do not grab anything. Now I have about a 1" gap. The column slides up and down but the turn signal unit will not bolt up to it. And when I slide the column up the mounting holes don't line up with the bracket underneath. At least the signals work and I did get the wires into the factory plug.