As for drilling too deep...I took a spare bit and ground a flat head on the top. This prevented me from drilling into the tube as well as removing any extra material at the very end of the drilled hole. This got rid of the material you can see in the pic that buddy posted. A small pic removed any remaining burs. As for the size of the hole, yes I agree it was more than what is needed. But it was required for the size of the walking j fittings. I dont see it as a bad thing, just a larger hole than needed.
As for the screen chevycowboy......i used one of those right angle flat screwdrivers and pulled it up using the top plastic rim on the screen. And yes, mine was a pain in the ass to get out as well, but i just kept pulling up on it one side to another. If you are putting a new one in then dont wory about breaking the old one. Put some muscle behind it and give it a good pull to loosen it up.