The problem is I wouldn’t know how to tighten the gear without it locking. The process of holding the cam and tightening the gear naturally twists it, or at least, that is what I remember. Maybe I installed it and twisted it after mounting it just trying to see if the bolt would twist things. I remember hearing the loud click of it locking in place and figured it was normal because it was the only way to tighten the bolt was to have it lock, but I can’t recall.
This is what I believe was my sequence: Pins in the back, wrench on the cam, slid the unlocked gear on the cam, spun on the bolt, torqued the bolt until the gear locked, then I finished torquing it, and then I put on the chain.
It is entirely possible the cam gear locked, I removed it to inspect it to see if it would unlock, and then I installed it locked, but I can’t remember if this happened, if I examined the old, stock gear for movement, but never removed the 50 degree gear, or if none of this happened
It all sounds plausible, and I honestly can’t remember. If it was locked, I could have damaged the pins inside the gear, or something. Hopefully this didn’t happen. Things seem to be working for the most part.