Interesting...I wouldn't mind knowing how to do the u-joints, but that is pretty cheap.
Pinion bearing. Is that inside the rear diff? That might be what my friend was talking about. He mentioned that if it was going out, it's almost better to just replace the third, because of the cost of having someone replace the bearing. I may have both these issues going on...u-joints and bearing. It would explain the ping when I let the clutch out and the rattly noise when I drive.