Joe, If I understand your post correctly, the slide did NOT go into battery, fully and the slide on your G26 was about 1/4 inch \”open\”. If that\’s correct, you might check your Overall Length of the suspect round. It could be TOO long to allow that round to go into the chamber, preventing the slide from going completely into battery. It may be hard to get the OAL, since you probably had to use a wooden dowel and a hammer to remove this round, huh? I\’ve had this happen, a few times, on my Keltec PF-9 and had to seat the projectile a small amount deeper in the case. This is a particular problem with bullets that have a more rounded face, as the shoulders can hit the front of the chamber, if the OAL is too long for that particular pistol. I hope this helps.
BTW, I\’m from Missouri too.
Good luck