r/hardbody

I have an old Nissan Hardbody D21 truck and plan to keep it despite the repairs needed. A few months ago, the (plastic) outside handle on the driver's-side door broke. I already had a spare because the passenger-side door handle broke a couple years ago and I was able to replace that one -- I won't say "no trouble", but I managed. But, despite having made a few goes at it already, I cannot seem to connect all the linkages needed for the door-lock mechanism to work properly. The one that consistently defeats me is furthest to the rear, where my hand simply won't fit (and my hands are not huge). I've already used the tricks I know, altering the order of making connections, removing the screws from the door latch mechanism so it floats till I can get the pieces to connect, etc. I just cannot manage to make one or two connections.

Does anyone know how to manage this? I lack the repair manual, but have a couple aftermarket manuals (e.g., Chilton's), and have been working from those. I'm sooooo close, but just not there.