Read a thing on a home repair forum where half the people said replacing the gear worked fine, but the other half said they still had issues with the assembly. Sounds like you might have another cracked piece in there that got missed.

Man that's the worst when they just nod and do it anyway. It's like people think flipping something upside down is some kind of universal trick for everything. I see this all the time with folks who refuse to read instructions for anything from furniture to phone chargers, they just assume they know better than the people who designed it. Makes you wonder how many broken gadgets and messed up setups are out there because someone thought they found a shortcut.

Telling your brother 'watch my feet' helped me slow down and stay visible on their side.

Mine took off too when I switched from a mason jar to a yogurt tub.

My old neighbor stored his '72 Challenger the same way for two years and the control arm bushings were completely shot when he finally pulled it out. I've always kept the suspension loaded on jack stands under the control arms, never had an issue. Maybe it depends on the car or the bushing material.