sorry Cholla, but I have to ask if you have ever done this adjustment....?
You clearly have much of this wrong/and are reading a manual for the parts that are somewhat correct...
You don't flatten the damned lock washer, you remove the top nut. The notch washer is only keyed to the adjuster nut, to offer resistance from loosening, it ain't keyed to anything else. The adjuster nut and washer will move when the top pinch clamps are loosend and pried upwards..
Adjusting is much easier when you completely loosen the TOP pinch bolts on the forks, and tap a screwdriver blade in each slot to relieve any pinch whatsoever. The amount of actual movement you will be making during the adjustment (maybe .010" max) won't make a bit of difference in this manner, or doing the bottom ones, but compressing the top clamp down is much easier, and requires much less effort than pulling the whole fork/wheel assembly upwards thru the bottom clamp doing it the way the book says. This allows you to be much more accurate on the adjustment also.
The most accurate method is actually to fully remove the top clamp,only takes a second or 2, this allows full access to the adjuster nut, and full removal of the key washer also.... oh, it also allows you to remove the actual bearing, and examine it instead of just cranking it down. that and the lower ones DO require grease to live long, never doing that is a guranteed way of replacing them way before they are due.
There is an article in the library over at the online site, in the Concourier section that describes the adjustment and all the features, might go well to look it up, it's entitled "Shake, rattle, & roll".
the front wheel does have to be off the ground also, how the hell would you turn the front end to see if you got it too tight if it wasn't?
geeze.
mind the O ring also....