Have you spent enough money and time yet to actually want to find the problem? It's not the sensor. It's not how you lined it up. But here ya go anyway.
Yes, there are many, many, ways to align TDC of the piston to the sensor.
1) Set the #1 cylinder to TDC. The straw method works. Looking through the timing hole works. Whatever.
2) Line up the sensor to trigger at that point. "Using ECMSpy" simply tells you when the sensor triggers, a test light/voltmeter will do the same.
But you are over thinking how close you need to get it. Don't toss it in there all willy-nilly (you didn't) and no need to break out the Electron microscope either (you're trying too). If you marked the last sensor and lined up the new one (you didn't need to change) the same you're fine... move on...
Because:
1) Each single degree of adjustment is about 1/16"-1/8" of movement, an easily visible difference (even for my old eyes) so you'd know if it's off enough to matter.
2) If your bike is actually pinging and it's pinging because of a 1-2* mismatch of the sensor, you have other issues. The timing map shouldn't be on that razors edge of detonation that adding 1-2* causes detonation.
If you suspect pinging know that it's not a Buell issue. It is a fundamental, universal, ICE issue:
1) The ignition sensor can't do that without causing massive other issues like after-fire, surging, bucking. Huge problems you'd know about. It only outputs one signal, sent to the ECM where it is split and timed for each cylinder. Unpredictable un-timed ignition spark (bad CPS) is different from the predictable/early consistent spark causing the detonation you think you have.
2) A mis-alighned TDC sensor could, but only if it slipped/moved by a huge amount, like 10+ degrees (to the end of the slot, 3/4" away).
3) Bad/contaminated gas can, but new. Not typically 'old gas' because its the lighter/faster-burning long chain hydrocarbons that evaporate first, old gas burns slower and doesn't detonate as easily. Ethanol or not won't matter, in fact Ethanol could help.
3) Heavily carboned pistons or combustion chamber can, a quick look with a $20 Amazon endoscope in your phone will tell you, but honestly gas today is so full of additives and oils are so clean, a chamber dirty enough to pre-ignite is fairly rare.
4) The wrong spark plugs can overheat the ground electrode and cause pinging. But again, they'd need to be drastically wrong. A heat range or 2 won't do it... NGK 8's or 9's won't matter.
5) An overheating engine will do that, but very hard to do with an air-cooled engine with such a wide margin on running temps and it's certainly easy to see if the engine is overheating...
6) A sensor issue can cause the timing map modifier to be incorrect. Look at what controls it. Temp sensor, TPS, RPM. All easily checked via Live Data.
7) Over advanced timing. BUT that map is NOT something that changes on it's own in the solid state, gel filled, Magic Narnia inside the ECM. Done any 'tuning' lately? Fuel maps (.XPR files) include a timing map.
So, do you even know if the bike is pinging?
How?
And no matter what, quit avoiding what you NEED to do to insure you aren't rattling that bike to death and settle your brain at the same time.
Compare the timing map in your ECM now to a stock one.
