I took the flapper valve out. Fixed it, but I'm having a problem reattaching the pull wire to the barrel bolt; is there a trick to getting The bolt and wire lined up ?

Jam it open so you get some slack for the cable. Once you get it attached, make sure the valve closes all the way.

Make sure you've got the jamb nut backed out enough to get the swaged end in the barrel nut. I've also seen hickeys on the ends that made it hard to get in the barrel nut.