Hello mechanic’s of reddit!

I am here because I screwed up.

I decided to do my own water pump thinking I promised myself I’d never let another man work on my truck again. I figured hey I’ve done this on my car before with no problem. So the mistake I made was trying to follow the special assembly instructions like an idiot and half prying off my timing cover. I went through a whole process of re-reading my Hanes book over and over again and I’m at the point now where I’m putting on the new cover. So my concern now is that I’m putting the rubber gasket in on the front of the oil pan and I’m wondering how I can make sure the seal is good without screwing anything else up. For the love of God please tell me how to put this crappy little rubber thing in without having to take anything else apart again. I have had to take way more off the front of my engine than I ever wanted to at this point considering my mechanical inexperience and I can not afford to tear this thing down again after I put it together. Help me please… I would be most thankful :)