I think I finally got it. I still have lots to do but I think I have the "bones" it of it back to where it was before this shop made such a mess of things. My issue was never about how to move the metal, it was how to know where to and when to stop moving the metal. The gaps are all fine now. My main concern was that I wasn't fooling myself by just looking at the gaps, I also needed to make sure everything was plumb and level so that the car looked proper when viewed from the rear.
I did this by using a straight edge and digital protractor. I first measured on common points from door sill to door sill, then across the parcel tray panel, then the body line ridge on the quarter panels near the rear window and about 2' back on each side and finally on the bumper. All measurements were less than or equal too .1 to .15 degrees. I repeated them all while holding my tongue a different way and got the same basic reading so I figured it was accurate.
So now what, what do they mean? Well the measurement points were all about 5' apart(give or take) so I found an on line calculator that converts degrees to inches, I enter the numbers and it comes up with a dimension of .15" so at most, so worst case it might be just over 1/8" out at one some point which I would think is within GM specs. To verify, I took the car outside to have a good look and everything look proper to me and one of my very critical friends so I think I'm fine.
I get that this is probably a very cumbersome, novice way to try and get everything back to where it should be but it was all I could come up with. I've seen too many nice cars, only to notice that a quarter is too low or a trunk lid fits poorly because the opening isn't proper and with a little more time, that could have been corrected before paint.
If someone has a better Idea that I could have done then I'd still like to hear it, I always like to learn!
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