Brake lever flop

[ChipToothy]

Any tips on getting the rear brake lever to engage? I changed a flat and when I got everything back together the brake lever just bottoms out instead of engaging the pads. I took the caliper off the disk a few times, wiggled the pads, cleaned it a little and still nothing. I then tried replacing the fluid twice and still nothing. I’m guessing the problem is inside the bronze painted device.

This happened last year or the year before exact same scenario but it fixed itself on the second day. This time I’m not getting so lucky. It has something to do with being as simple as removing the 2 caliper bolts to get the wheel off. I feel like there’s a plunger in there or something that needs to drop. The brake lever pin is just sitting loose inside and hitting what sounds like metal.