Update: the stuck portafilter basket that ate 3 weeks of my mornings

I took the basket out of my portafilter to clean it 3 weeks ago and it went right back in crooked. Since then I couldn't get it level again, and my espresso pulled fast and sour no matter how fine I ground. I tried a coin test, cleaned the groove, even put the whole thing in the freezer for an hour because a guy on a forum swore it would pop loose. Nothing worked. Last Tuesday I sat down with a flashlight and finally saw a tiny chip of old coffee stuck in the rim holding the basket up on one side. Picked it out with a paperclip and the basket dropped in flat on the first try. Has anyone else had a boring little problem turn into a whole project like this?