Update...
So, after jiggling and jostling for a while with the inner CV joint. I got frustrated and removed the retaining band that held the large end of the boot on the inner CV joint, so that I could get a look and determine why it wasn't reseating. I first went to AZ and got a couple of universal CV boot bands (1 extra in case I screwed up), then I tore into it.
It should be noted that CV Axel was still attached to the car at this point, but I was super frustrated and thought I'd see what was wrong before I completely removed it (which I never had to do). Well, once I got the CV boot off, I could tell that the rollers on the tripod weren't lined up with their reciprocating grooves. I lift the roller on one of them about 1/32" and BAM! It slid right in and seated properly. So...now I had to get it repacked with grease and get a retaining band installed...with little-to-no room to work with. After I cleaned up the old grease and wiped it out to the best of my ability, I regressed and reinstalled the tripod/rollers and the boot. It was quite a challenge to get the retaining band in place and secured, but with lots of trial/error I was able to do it.
I then moved on to reinstalling the strut....which was the whole reason for having this out in the first place. Well, as I went to reinstall the strut...I stressed the angle on the CV too much and pulled it out again. DANG!!! I can tell you that in all of my years of wrenching...this was the most frustrating moment that I've ever had. The problem is that you have to pull the control arm down quite a bit to get the strut lined up with the bolt holes where it mounts. By doing this, you have a very obtuse angle that ended up allowing the tripod/rollers to slide out of the inner CV housing again. The problem is trying to manage multiple planes of movement at one time while holding heavy parts. Its much easier with a second set of hands.
So.....I had to repeat the entire process of removing the strap, re-seating the CV and boot and getting another retaining strap on it again. This took me an additional 1.5 hours.
After all of this, I called a friend over and we were able to slowly guide the control arm down while keeping enough pressure on the steering knuckle/caliper to keep it perpendicular to the ground and ultimately lined up with the bolt holes. Once we got the 2 mounting bolts in place, we were able to tighten the upper mounting bolts and put it all back together properly.
In conclusion...the car is running great. No more strut bearing popping! I also replaced the ignition coil on cylinder #6. That was simple and I cleared the P0300/P0306 code that I was getting (misfire on #6).
If/when I do the driver's side strut bearing, I'll be aware of the CV issue and make sure to support the control arm and get a friend to help when bolting it back together. I think I could do the second one in a couple of hours barring any complications.
Ultimately, I saved about $1100 dollars vs what the dealership quoted me to do all the work and I got a great new tool out of it. Milwaukee Fuel Cordless 18V Impact Wrench. That thing is awesome and saved me tons of time and anguish. Great tool with 1100# of torque in a cordless package. IT was essential in breaking loose many of the bolts and I was very impressed with it..
I hope my anguish helps someone else in the future. Feel free to ask any questions and I'll be happy to answer.