I also wonder if there were other issues on-board that required their attention or otherwise diverted on-board brainpower.

Not to mention they had a limited amount of equipment on-board, so they basically had ONE CHANCE to get it right; no room for trial-and-error. There was a surplus of equipment on the ground, so they had more of a chance to make mistakes and get it right before directing the crew on-board.

So yes, they would have been able to figure it out if needed, but I think there are other reasons besides NASA's (infamous) bureaucracy.