The hammer must be in the fired position. Hammer up/against the back of the frame or it makes it just about impossible to compress that spring, new or old.
Even with the hammer in the correct position it can be tough to compress the spring enough to get it back in position.
I cheat.
Does your main spring plug have the loop on the bottom? Or is it flat? If it has the loop on the bottom put it then you can get a small piece of wood and push the plug up in the frame till it's lined up and you can put the pin that holds the plug in place in the frame.
If no lanyard loop on the bottom of the plug then you can take a small piece of wood, screw a small wood screw into the piece of wood and use that to push the main spring plug up into the frame while you put the pin in it.
You just lay the piece of wood on your bench/table, grab the frame with one hand, start the main spring plug into the frame, hold both (frame and plug) while turning the frame bottom down and placing the plug on the wood (lanyard loop plug) or screw head (flat plug) and push down while inserting the pin.