> Why not pull the piston off and put it back in the cylinder first?

After I posted to the list, I sent this message directly to Terry:

After rereading my post, I see I left out the important part.

The easy way to do this is to remove the piston from the rod .... use ring
squeezer to put piston into the cylinder from the bottom, leaving the hole
for the wrist pin exposed .... then reinstall the piston after which you
push the cylinder the rest of the way down.  Remember that the gaps in the
rings should be offset so they don't line up (sort of like a 3 legged
table).

Mike