The ever-vigilant Troy is right. Looking at that diagram up above, if the pawl is left in the right position it can allow the #5 "Ratchet Segment" to fall out of the mechanism and you have to re-insert it (pay close attention to the diagram and you'll see how it goes). There's nothing holding it in except for the pawl. It has a horse-shoe shaped back end that fits around the lever pin #9 but nothing really holds it to the pin. I suppose it's possible for that to fall out of position (maybe landing on the floor) so look around if you don't see it and put it back. Use a small magnet to hold it in position while messing with the pawl/etc.
The true "Madness" that Stan welcomed you to is that some of us actually know arcane stuff like how the e-brake lever works. And have also gone through what you're going through. 