starter giving me a fit

[71GMCinTN]

Have the solenoid off to engage the starter drive,and it seems that it is hitting into the flexplate. looking at the pics I just took, it looks too far down from the flexplate teeth now, but seems like it needs to be shimmed to not hit into the side of the flexplate. (have tried moving the flexplate slightly to see if it helps)
Could the teeth on the starter drive be that bad?
PO only used it a week, before the head broke (they had reg. bolts in the starter), but was SCREECHING real bad.
Can't get a good pic of it, but might help.