I don’t change tail light bulbs that often, but It’s the fact there isnt an option to change a burnt bulb that makes me happy to not have LED tail light assemblies. If an LED assembly breaks or burns out for whatever reason you’ll be out hundreds per assembly.
I too fumbled the bolt and had an oh ish moment. Used the same technique of peeling back the fender protection. My hood is also hard to close, but to be honest I never tried it prior to installing the struts…
What size is the tube? If it’s standard size like 1” you should be able to get black plastic insert caps from McMaster-Carr or similar. https://www.mcmaster.com/tube-caps/snap-in-square-plugs/
It’ll be another month before I get my Bronco, but I’ll post info once I have it. I’ve stockpiled a bunch of stuff to install so I’ll probably do a write up.
I ordered it and the clips for $130 with shipping from Marcotte Ford. $65 for the mat and $3 each for the clips. Hopefully it fits with no issue. Worth a shot.