CV Intermediate shaft and went to replace with new one when I noticed it would not go in all the way?

I removed my old CV Intermediate shaft and went to replace it with a new one when I noticed it wouldn't go in all the way. After a day of investigating why I noticed the old Intermediate shaft was missing a part and it was stuck in PTU. I've pulled some pictures of the line to save me from crawling under the car at 4:30 AM. I've tried about every possible method (slide hammer, bearing pullers, homemade rigs, etc.,) to remove ring from PTU with no luck. It's in so tight there's nothing to grab onto front, middle or back. Local O'Reilly, AutoZone or anybody I know have never encountered or heard of that happening. Appreciate any advice, Thank you.