Moving forward after my saga...
I ordered a new intermediate shaft gear from Pelican for $270 and a NOS crankshaft gear from Aase for $360.
Pulled the gear stack off the crankshaft and reinstalled with the new gear.
Rebuilt the shaft with all new gears and used Loctite 574 on the end plug.
Checked backlash, which came in at 0.023mm. Much better!
Checked end play on the crankshaft. Minimum spec is 0.110mm (I believe) and it came in at 0.123mm...
And "bob's your uncle"...
Test fit the new oil pump. (I know the pump is overkill, but I got a good deal on it...)
