oil pump drive

[Steeveedee]

OK, a first for me. It's been awhile (13+ years) since I had an SBC apart. I had to put a crankshaft in a 305 (in my Buick Skylark, shoot me now, ha ha!). I waited to prime the oil pump because I have to have the oil filter removed to install the headers. Long story short, when I primed the oil pump and removed the tool, the drive shaft between the pump and the distributor came out with the tool. So, question- how do I reinsert the driveshaft into the pump without taking the pan off, which means removing the engine? I haven't shined a light down the hole yet to see if the nylon barrel is still on the pump. Damn, I'm lazy, first for not looking and then asking instead of figuring it out for myself. Anyway, any far more experienced Chevy guys have an easy answer, beyond "You should have primed it on the engine stand, when you had a chance!"?

Otherwise, there goes my next day off to R&R the thing.