HELP with clutch installation... newbie

Any more advice would be greatly appreciated. I've looked at it with a buddy of mine and we couldn't get it working. We think we need to take apart more of the bike to get to that rod. Another friend is coming by Wednesday but I am DYING to ride in this weather

Looks to me you are missing a washer and the nut. The adjusting screw is all the way out.
Steve

Here is a parts diagram.
www.kawasaki.com/Parts/PartsDiagram/144356/1980/KZ1000-E2

In the video, the bearings seem to be jumping out, suggesting something is out of adjustment.

It looks to me like you are pulling the arm over the bearing. If you didn't open the bevel gear case than the bearings and plate would be difficult to fudge up. On mine, the arm end is close to the bevel gear case at about 4:30, not at 6:00. I also assume all you had was a broken cable and did not open the clutch side. R