You should have a little ring that will in screw on your tap and then it will go on. In regards to hop filter I have had issues with it clogging up so have gone back to using a sock. I knocked the filter off with paddle on my first brew and clogged the pump up.
Hey Warnerbrew
My sparge takes about 20 minutes i have a urn set up above my gf so gravity may be helping. Are you pushing the plate down when sparging?