I went left it went right

Well we're home safely and the Z Pod's safe and snug. If nothing else I think I've learned to check for a good hook up. Life's lessons continue.

Holy sh*t batman.  That is terrifying to say the least.  I'm glad to hear everything worked out, and safely.  Every time I've lowered the hitch onto the ball, I feel and see it seat, but I've often wondered.  I do make sure the latch is pulled completely forward before pushing it back over the ball to lock it, but I've never cranked the Pod back up to check it.  

I always push the latching lever on the trailer hitch forward as I lower it onto the ball, this will assure you it is open all of the way.

Wow, I'm getting old. I missed the second part of Goose's post and recommended the same crank-up procedure.

At least our advice is consistent!   

The best way to tell that you put things back correctly is to hook up the trailer to your TV, and drive down a quiet side street. If you toggle the manual engagement switch on the electric brake controller, you should feel the trailer brakes engage when you engage the brake switch and release when you let go. If the trailer brakes are on all the time, your emergency switch is still engaged.

As for the ball hitch, I do the same thing as Goose. If you want to double check things, after you think you've connected the ball hitch, crank the trailer hitch jack to lift the trailer a good bit. If the jack lifts both the trailer and the butt end of your TV, you're probably hitched correctly. Visually check everything as Goose recommends, too.