After working at it for 4 hours I finally managed to get the drum off the brake shoes and I found that a spring was not intalled quite right (I don't know what the spring is called, but it keeps a metal piece in contact with the star wheel). I corrected that and can now pull up the parking brake handle.
Next quetion, 'With the adjuster screw fully retracted should the brake drum slide on easily?' I am trying to figure out if I have the wrong shoes for my vehicle. They seemed to be identical to the old ones, but perhaps I misjudged them. I don't think it should be so tight with adjuster fully retacted.