"I would also put a piece of low stick tape along the edge of the right guage piece until you are done. "
Second that. If not, you're almost guaranteed to scratch the woodgrain pattern down to silver.
Just be patient and it'll eventually go in. I will say it's a poor design when doing it the "right" way makes you feel like you're gonna break something. But I'll cut Mopar some slack considering this was designed in the days when it was all still paper and pencils. :-)