Well, the "downstream damage" was discovered. When I broke the overdrive housing, and the transfer case almost fell OUT of the truck - going 80, for those that forget... <lmao>
Looks like I bent the mainshaft in the transfer case. It finally decided that it didn't want to work well and play well with others, and it fractured the output bearing housing. Just a little crack...
I'm a very firm believer that God hates lazy people, so I never try to do schit half-assed. I put everything I have into it. 100% and then some. So, that little crack wouldn't be an easy thing to fix, not at all. I started shopping for boneyard transfer cases, and they were around $500~$750, in some places they wanted "exchange" too - give them my broken stuff AND pay them a hefty sum.
I found a pick-a-part place, located a HD version of this t-case from a '99 V8 Durango, and had it out in about an hour. Cost = $173.
Cleaned it up, swapped it in, and hoped for the best. Took it on another 80-mph-bombing run. Sum'bitch leaked at all the sealing surfaces. Removed it, tore it all down, resealed everything. The sealant is drying now.
We'll see what happens. Might need to get the driveshaft rebalanced...