Stop in for a cup of coffee
Here's some possibilities for why the sector gear adjusment is so far down (and not helping).
I had one apart a couple years ago. (The one I'm replacing now).
Slant 6 Abody housings have a bushing at the bottom of the sector shaft instead of a bearing.
99.9 percent of the time nobody notices the difference. But if that or the other bearings are worn or loose that could explain why the sector adjuster is so low.
Here's some others.
If the adjuster for the worm gear is loose, it can cause the looses in steering and its possible it could move sideways.
The inside of that adjuster has bearings supporting that end of the worm gear.
The adjustment on top is for meshing the gears together. They're both cut on angles.
...Worm gear.......................................................................... and sector gear
If either shaft moves sideway, the sector needs to drop lower to stay in full mesh with the worm's rack.
On this sector gear, I had to take some slop out of the adjuster with a shim (hardened washer).