'thrustTransform' Wants to Point Sideways

[DanHalen]

Putting this general because it's related to both C# and 3d modelling, so I wasn't sure which one to put it in.

I'm working on an engine part with a custom gimbal module, and I'm having trouble with the thrustTransform.  For some reason, the thrustTransform points directly north when in the flight scene.  I have a rocket engine that is made of several .blend meshes.  I have double triple checked that the meshes in both Blender and Unity are aligned correctly, as you can see in the screenshots.  I have also deleted and re-created the blank axis mesh in 'thrustTransform.blend' several times, rotating it in various direction in case it got screwed up somehow.  I would just rotate the thrustTransform 90°, but then the custom gimbal points in the wrong direction - I can't get both the thrustTransform and the gimbal to point in the same direction.

I'm guessing that there's a problem with how the thrustTransform mesh is aligned in Blender, but I have spent nearly 24 hours now consulting with the wiki and ChatGPT, to no avail.

Screenshots:

Spoiler

I'm not sure if it's helpful, but here is my module code, in case:

Spoiler

namespace ProceduralEngines
{
    internal class ModuleProceduralGimbal : PartModule
    {
        [KSPField(isPersistant = true, guiActiveEditor = true, guiName = "Include Gimbal"),
        UI_Toggle(scene = UI_Scene.Editor)]
        public Boolean includeGimbal = false;

        [KSPField(isPersistant = true, guiActiveEditor = true, guiName = "Gimbal Range", guiFormat = "F1", guiUnits = "°"),
        UI_FloatEdit(scene = UI_Scene.Editor, minValue = 0f, maxValue = 45.0f, incrementSlide = 1f, incrementLarge = 5f, incrementSmall = 0.5f, sigFigs = 2, unit = "°")]
        public float gimbalRange = 15f;

        [KSPField(isPersistant = true, guiActiveEditor = true, guiActive = true, guiName = "Gimbal Limit", guiFormat = "F1"),
        UI_FloatEdit(scene = UI_Scene.All, minValue = 0f, maxValue = 100.0f, incrementSlide = 1f, sigFigs = 0)]
        public float gimbalLimit = 100f;

        [KSPField]
        public Transform thrustTransform;

        public override void OnStart(StartState state)
        {
            base.OnStart(state);
        
            thrustTransform = part.FindModelTransform("thrustTransform");

            if (HighLogic.LoadedSceneIsFlight)
            {

            }
        }
        public void Update()
        {
        
            if (HighLogic.LoadedSceneIsEditor)
            {
                Fields["gimbalRange"].guiActiveEditor = includeGimbal;
                Fields["gimbalLimit"].guiActiveEditor = includeGimbal;
            }
            
            if (HighLogic.LoadedSceneIsFlight)
            {
                Fields["gimbalLimit"].guiActive = includeGimbal;
            }
            
            if (HighLogic.LoadedSceneIsFlight && thrustTransform != null && includeGimbal)
            {
                if (part.inverseStage == vessel.currentStage)
                {
                    float limitedRange = gimbalRange * 0.01f * gimbalLimit;
            
                    float pitchInput = vessel.ctrlState.pitch;
                    float rollInput = vessel.ctrlState.roll;
                    float yawInput = vessel.ctrlState.yaw;
            
                    float angleToSetPitch = Mathf.Clamp(pitchInput * limitedRange, -limitedRange, limitedRange);
                    float angleToSetRoll = Mathf.Clamp(rollInput * limitedRange, -limitedRange, limitedRange);
                    float angleToSetYaw = Mathf.Clamp(yawInput * limitedRange, -limitedRange, limitedRange);

                    thrustTransform.localRotation = Quaternion.Euler(angleToSetPitch, angleToSetRoll, angleToSetYaw);
                }
            }
        }
    }
}