I’ll add my two cents on this. The primary purpose of the gear break-in is to allow the two gears to “mesh” without overheating them which can damage the gears. I don’t see this as a significant concern for a front differential in a 2wd rig that’ll only be in 4wd while going relatively slow off road. Just keep an eye on the temperature. A rule of thumb that I’ve heard is if you can put your hand on it you’re doing ok.
I agree with this.
Anyone who has dealt with new gears knows they run hot until broke in. Running them too long or too hard on break in can cause the oil to break down and not do its job. I always take care to properly break in a rear diff. For the front, I'll make a few gravel road drives in 4HI. After 50-100 miles dump the oil. Run some trails, dump the oil and forget about it.
