last night i managed to cut the rim of the tophat in the diff bushing in half, and used that donut spacer over the subframe bushing, and managed to get the diff to point down exactly the right amount (lucky me, trig doesnt work with all the various linkages apparently haha) anyways, it snowed 3" so test drive isn't going to happen soon, but at least the driveline angles are better.
i did have to reroute a fuel line so it wouldnt get pinched between the diff and the floor. (not much more room to shave that bushing anymore, and up front i see a single thread left on the stud beyond the nut, so no more room to space that anymore)
one issue solved, hopefully it's all fixed now, but if not i'll look into the CVs.
Nothing felt bad about them when i bought them (used) from a member here, aside from checking for play, is there a way to test if they are bad?
would swapping sides help diagnose? as in would something show up in engine braking as opposed to accel in that case?