I had already attached the new plate and I connected the strut to the ball joint on the plate. The strut is upside down though with the wire coming out of the top. I noticed my mistake when I went to attach the top. The strut blocks the screw so the plate can't be removed without removing the strut. I can't manage to remove the strut because I can't seem to pry the locking band loose with a curved pick tool. The process is completely blind because of how tight the space is on the driver side.
In the end, I left it upside down and finished the install and everything seems to be fine. Waiting to hear from TO if it's OK to leave it as is.