I never got them to show up but I found pictures of the same culprit on the vwvortex forum for the Golf/Jetta:
Home,Forum,Volkswagen,Golf IV & Jetta IV,
DIY: Heater, Air Conditiong Fix (blend door issue)
VWVortex.com - DIY: Heater, Air Conditiong Fix (blend door issue)
With a visual in hand, under the dash I went, and sure enough... same problem. Since I didn't have a replacement part, I borrowed the idea offered in another post to use a small socket and wedge it between the lever and the lower heater duct to hold it in place until the new part arrives... worked like a champ.
"Patience required" can be a major understatement! I struggled for quite a while before I could get the lever re-inserted and aligned with the blend door. I would also recommend finding someone young, small, and flexible as well... just about killed me laying upside down with my spine bent over the door jamb!
TIP: I did not use a mirror to align the blend door... I just suck a finger up in the hole to feel/adjust the blend door alignment. On several attempts to re-insert the lever, the blend door would slip to the side & I couldn't feel it... I thought I had really messed up and was in for a dash disassembly nightmare to recover it. I had my daughter turn on the blower while sticking my finger in the duct & THANKFULLY, it "pulled" the door back against my finger so I could reposition it again (which I had to do many times).
Hopefully this extra info helps someone else a bit.
Thanks again!... these newsgroups & your inputs are invaluable for resolving these kinds of problems.
(still wish I knew why the picture didn't show but...
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