Update for anyone interested. It looks like the Bed Step mounting slightly contacted one of the mounting bolts for my hitch, so I slightly ground that area down until it fit. That didn't help much. I supported the Bed Step while the mounting bolts were loose and tried to angle it away from the exhaust while I torqued them down and it still hit the exhaust. What ended up working was, I used my step drill bit to make one of the holes bigger that mounts the folding step mechanism TO the Bed Step mount. This allowed me to turn the Bed Step itself and angle it more away from the exhaust and then it mounted perfectly. Looking at the mounting brackets, I am wondering if my mount was "defective" and not cast/stamped properly. All in all, this install took me probably 4 hours, but if I had to do it again armed with the knowledge I have now, it would probably take less than an hour.
I also forgot to take pictures, so I'll have to do that if anyone is interested in the final product.