yeah.. most of the mystery solved. Because I'm a dumbass and didn't totally understand the instructions. There was confusion on my behalf completely taking off the brackets that the top connects to (VS JUST the TWO SCREWS that needed to come out).
The first one I got was from Amazon, and it was an older model that did NOT have the additional side Halo connection brackets, AND did have some bending to it that made it defective. I truly appreciate Bestop stepping up to totally make it right with a newer unit.
Soo.. props to the @Bestop_Team for their guidance and patience helping sort it out.!!!! The customer service was great, and they walked me thru trying to figure this all out. I feel very confident recommending this to my fellow Bronco friends, and now I've learned how to do this correctly.