Problems Reinstalling Dashboard

[dwjack]

I removed the dashboard in my truck to have more room to work and now I can't get it to sit underneath the windshield seal like it should.
All the clips on the bottom are in the slots and if I angle it up I can slip it under the seal but when I bring it down to screw it in it pops out. I tried for about an hour before giving up thinking I would break it. Now there is a gap as you look in through the front windshield.
The only other thing I can think of is that I need a new windshield anyways so maybe when it's out I could pull that seal out and put it back in on top of the dash before the new windshield is put in.
I'm stumped, anyone have any thoughts or tips? Maybe there's something Im missing here?