Just start he mounting screws through the two gromments. With the guitar laying flat on the table, as the pickup gets close to the guitar body, slide the four corner grommets under the nuts (a pair of tweezers helps). Then finish screwing down the pickup. Not hard at all.

mission accomplished; thanks everyone. I was actually expecting a bit more dramatic shift in tone after all this reading I've been doing, but it certainly does the trick.

Switching from high gains to vintage toasters made a world of difference in the sound of my guitar.