Sure Jeff. The lug (strut) goes in the tall way. It is a bit fiddly but it will drop in wehen you compress the band with a long handled screwdriver. I hope you dont have the rear drum fitted, because that would cause the difficulty you are having. Fit the band & strut first, then locate the low reverse drum inside the band to engage with the splines on the sprag inner race. Only machine the drum if the surface is heavily scored, that is the reason for longer struts. This is the only half decent photo I have on my hard drive. Sorry it's a bit fuzzy, but I think you can just make out the orientation of the strut.
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Cheers. Gaz