I was told the pitman arm can only go on in 4 positions, so it should be obvious which one is correct. Not sure what you mean by 180 degrees for sure, but that could be what is wrong (wrong index on the pitman to steering shaft).

 

Steering wheel is currently upside down. Question becomes, which way to turn it......

 

Didn't know that and never had my steering wheel off my 3rd or 4th gen trucks so I can't say for sure

 

This.

If you can find out which side took the hit and deduce which direction the wheels were turned or bent, then maybe you can turn it the correct 180. You can turn a wheel detached from the pitman as long as it doesn't over travel. Obviously it can turn more than 360 degrees since it does in normal useage. Just don't spin it several times. I think you're okay just moving it back to top and attaching the pitman arm the correct way. Worst case, you have replace the spring.

 

I think if you could wind up the clock spring one direction till it stops, then wind it back to the other direction - AND - count the turns.... then divide by two, you're in the center of the clock spring, if you spin it back the other half way using your calculation. But I think you'd want the clock spring out and do that by hand - they tend to be fragile when you get to the end of the ribbon cable. If the Ram clock spring utilizes the ribbon cable design....

 

Just to follow up - I followed Ramman18's advice above. The steering wheel wasn't nearly as badly rotated as I remember. Rotating the steering shaft on the input splines of the steering gear by 1/4 was enough to get close, the rest I adjusted when I swapped out the drag link. I pulled hard on the various linkages and none of the other joints felt at all loose.

Still seems to handle a little wishy-washy and pulls slightly to the right, I'm used to a much smaller car so it's hard to tell if that's just normal big-truck-tire behavior. I'll take it in for an alignment and final inspection, but I think it's good. I'll report back when I get it aligned.

Thanks a ton for your guys' help! First time wrenching on a car since the Reagan administration and it went remarkably well.

 

Glad it's improved. I'd be wary of the alignment. I've never had a shop do it right and these are the simplest designs to get right. Trouble is they rely on their million dollar equipment too much instead of knowledge. All you need is zero toe and it's done. If you have a pull, you have too much toe. I had a terrible pull for two years after an alignment until I finally decided to zero it myself. Never had pull since.

A squirrelly feeling can be tires, or the box, or air pressure, or alignment. Even though my whole front end is new, it's never driven like it did new.

 

is it pulling to the side that took the hit from the previous owner? Maybe damage to the axle? The alignment should show if the axle or BJs are damaged. Otherwise, Rammans advice is pretty solid so check what he has mentioned.
Good luck!