Yeah it was tight, I lubed and it helped a little, but not good enough. So I did take some fine sandpaper and just sanded lightly the area between the hopup slot and the c clip slots, it worked good, ring slipped on easy then.
Barrel is in, and gun is back together, and battery is charging. I have to test with .20 .25 and .28 and see what works best with the new barrel now. Then next week will be with the new Systema mechbox setup.
And I have to break in a new KJW P229 this weekend
Thanks for the input guys.