Well, I'm pretty sure I figured this one out. The two tensioners (balance shaft and camshaft) are very similar but have slight differences. And if I'm right, the person who previously did the rollers, put them on back wards.
The cam shaft tensioner has a lip on the gears that, once installed, should be against the engine block. While the balance shaft tensioner has a lip that should be on the side of the gear away from the engine. If you get these flipped, the lip causes the timing belt to slip on the cam gear and it rides too close to the engine (my initial problem). Here's a pic of my old tensioners: timing tensioner on the left, balance on the right.
