87 Fox 5.0 steering shaft short after rack pulled. Installation trouble now.

Pulled the rack and pinion out of my 87 fox. I separated the rack at the rag joint by first removing the pinch bolt and then lightly tapping the rag joint off the rack splines with a punch and hammer. When installing the new rack I realized that because of the tapping, the steering shaft had moved up/collapsed towards the firewall a little and I now have a gap of about an inch so I can't get the rag joint back on the new rack input shaft splines. In the interior, by the foot peddles, I can see how far inward the shaft has moved because of some residue markings on the steering shaft from the firewall boot. I've tried clamping a pair of vice grips on the steering shaft and striking with a hammer to try to get the steering shaft back down so I can reconnect the rag joint but no movement yet. Anybody have any suggestions? Thanks.

Thanks for the reply. Yes, it's a power rack. I just need to get the steering shaft to retract about an inch down toward the rack so I can reinstall the rag joint. Might try a slide hammer. Hope I don't have to pull the whole steering shaft.