Thanks for all the advice - it's all out on workbench now. Everything is going great. No bad words, blood, or broken fingers. Figured out why it was popping out of high range - detent springs were not correct, and there was an extra ball in one side - go figure. But all the seals were leaking on the tc, and the bearings, while not bad, have enough play to justify an overhaul kit. The intermediate shaft also showed some wear, but nothing severe.
I do need some advice here from you more experienced folks, though.
1. The sliding gear teeth mesh points showed some rounding. At what point do you know when you actually have to replace the gears? I'll try to post a picture later today.
2. Before disassembly, the transmission shifted fine and did not pop out of 2nd. There's no leaks in the front. Should I leave well enough alone?
3. Last year, I had the started bendix replaced, and after a couple months of use, it was making a lot of noise - that's why I parked it until now. Turned out the ring gear was much more worn than I thought, and it sheered the teeth off the new bendix and cracked the nose cone on the starter. Can those nose cones be replaced? or should I just get one of the new hi-torque starters?
4. Along this same line, I was wondering if the gears could have got stripped because the gear teeth on the starter didn't match the ring gear. The existing ring gear has 129 teeth, and the hi-torgue starters are for 124 teeth ring gears. Should I just order a 124 tooth ring gear?
Thanks for reading - suggestions greatly appreciated!
Mark