I like you dedication here. I'm enjoying brainstorming. Although i do want to start piecing my car back together :(
regarding the upper u joint - there is no channel on the splines up there like there is on the rack side. It's just a bolt that purely clamps down, which is why I am unsure if it's all the way in or not (probably is).
As far as the upper U-joint goes, if the bolt is in there and it went into the channel on the splines, you're good to go. I see the bolt so that looks correct.
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