I apologize, but I've apparently lost track of something here. Perhaps I'm just confusing "disassembling" with "removal". Is there a cutoff in the rifle now? Is it the correct one? Is it fully operable, or somehow damaged?

My money is still on the bum side-plate, but the cutoff needs to be right, too. I'm further guessing the whole follower/spring thing will turn out to be a red herring. It'll be fun to find out, eventually.