Rear View Mirror Ball Joint

Hello...I took the single black screw out of the back side of the rearview mirror before understanding that I couldn't detach the mirror portion from the ballcatch in that manner. Instead I had to removethe whole piece by removing dome light lens, 3 screws and a connector switch. But...now for the life of me that one, singular screw that goes in the back is giving me the most difficult time just catching the thread and going back into its little home. I cant take apart the mirror any further b/c it seems to have a plastic "seem" and is somehow like enclosed after assembly in the factory or manufacturing process....so I can't see if I am missing a plate of sorts that could have slid out from between or anything at all. I can't hear anything inside the enclosed area either. How do I get the screw back in? Will this screw help hold the balljoint tight?Any help is much appreciated!

 

Same here. No trouble removing the entire rear view mirror with mount, but I just want to remove the mirror itself and retain the drop down arm with the ball for reattachment. Short of a Sawzall any suggestions or a link to a previous thread that might explain how to remove just the mirror from the mount?