Steering shaft nut / threads issues

Oh for pete's sake......I am embarassed to say that I didn't see that the circlip was disengaged from the groove...

How did I not see that? These old eyes must be getting even poorer than I thought....LOL

I guess part of it is that I assumed it was together the way it "should" be...looks like when the previous seller replaced the ignition lock he forgot that!

That took up about 95% of the movement...there is still some there though....is that normal?

Would the spring/stop collar be visible? Cant seeanything like that in the service manual pics.....??