I pulled my pump today just to make sure the key was in the right way. i ratated the engine until the keyway was at 12 o'clock, pulled the pump and no key. i thought the worst at that point, but found that the key was still in the gear. i finally got the key out without dropping it in the front case. my question is how often does this happen and could i have done something wrong a year and a half ago when i put the pump in?

 

It's really in how the gear seats but if you had it lined up correctly, and the truck was running fine I would vote that the keyway wasnt in the pump shaft very well. It's happend plenty of times to me without issue!