The narrow spot that keeps the bulge on the stick from going too deep into the pan is actually in the transmission case not the tube. With the tube removed, the stick can be inserted into the trans approx 4 inches before it stops. I did the same thing with a thin screwdriver to confirm that the stick was not bottoming in the pan, and the screwdriver went deeper. I would want to check the transmission hot and idling to confirm it is at the proper level while in operation and not just rely on the cold static level. You could try fabbing something like this maybe?.....
View attachment 1715744209
