With the bell housing of the trans. flush with the engine block, ready to be bolted and dowel pins bottomed, the t/c should not be bound in any way.
I mean this:
The t/c is bottomed all the way into your new front pump if the t/c is loose ie. can be rotated or moved endwise with the bell housing bolts inserted and ready for to be torqued. This is the desired position of the t/c during trans installation. I normally line up the bolt holes in the flex plate with the t/c bolt holes also.
dpk