Lifting the steering column

I was going to replace the heater core - gave up on that job but not until after I had dropped the steering column and the dashboard.

So, I'm just trying to put it back together and the steering column is not lining up with the bolts that it came from. There are two black support brackets that were on the bolts and they don't line up either. From what I can tell neither the support brackets nor the column bolts are attached in any way to the dashboard so the fact that I moved it around should not be an issue. What could possibly have gone wrong???

First thing you want to do is get the dash completely mounted back in place. After it's mounted the black support bars at the other end loosen the bolts up some so they can move around, then push the column back up to the top bolts that go through the side brackets, it is a little tricky to get them lined back up just right but they will go back in, then once you get them back through the holes put a nut on one side while you put the support bar back and tighten it down on the other side then remove that first nut and attach the other support bar. Don't forget to tighten the bolts at the other ends of the support bars.