PK, I was just finishing off my first cup of coffee, browsing PFF and found the same post and solution you posted. Looks like he cut the tips of the fingers off the old bushing and just kept the portion that fits inside the banjo rod.
When using that stamped spring steel nut shown in the picture, you really need to be sure that you have the banjo rod on with the curl upward. Those things are real buggers to get off.
Congratulations.