Toy trans gurus help please (Rebuilding my 99 R150F)

[cpom]

Bought a 99 R150F from a junkyard for my project truck and when running it on jackstands noticed it makes a TON of noise.  After dissassembly I have NOT noticed very much out of the ordinary. 

Problems:
-Loud noise like an electric drill when in neutral, noise gets louder when in gear under load.  Loud enough to be heard over the engine while standing next to the truck.
-Shifting is very very rough, you have to use a lot of pressure to get into some gears.  5th and Reverse are toughest.  Sometimes you have to try pushing a few times to get it in gear.  I would say one out of 5 shifts you have to force...

(All clutch parts are new and should not be to blame, infact all noises stop when I press the clutch.)



This trans is suprisingly enough very clean inside and has very little wear on all component parts.


Synchros are well within spec and still have the factory ridges on the braking surface.  They look brand new.




Here's what I have tested/checked and found to be fine:

-Synchro #1 +#5 look almost new, the others I haven't taken off yet but all 5 synchros are within spec clearance-wise.
-1st, 3rd, and 5th gear thrust clearance within spec (don't know how to check 2nd)
-All bearings seem to have little play and seem tight.
-All shift fork/hub clearances are within spec (3/4, 5th, Reverse)
-reverse idler bushing in good shape

I ordered a dial caliper to check gear radial clearance and output shaft runout so I haven't check that yet.
I also haven't broken down the mainshaft yet to check journal diameter.


Here's what caught my eye but might even be normal:

-Some play in the shift rods?  Do these bushing sleevesever have to be replaced?  I'm assuming that this can't be a problem considering how good the rest of the trans is condition-wise.


-Input "pocket" needle bearing
This bearing seems to make some noise if I stand the output shaft on end, and put the input on top and spin it without the synchro.  But the needle bearing and inner & outer  journal seems to be in good shape...  I would assume since the input shaft is supported, this bearing should not see very much of a load?

-Input bearing.  This bearing seems to be able to move foreward and back a bit in its bore. The c-clip prevents it from moving backwards and the front bearing retainer prevents it from moving forwards right?  I am using the front bearing retainer from a Dodge Dakota AX-15 to make my swap.  I'm ASSUMING all front bearing retainers have the same internal clearances but I don't have the old Toy one to compare?  Could that cause some shifting of the input shaft and hard shifting or noise??

-Lastly, the output shaft intermediate beaing, the one behind the stamped steel plate.  I know this plate causes problems sometimes and I should get the Marlin upgrade, but here is a video of me moving the output shaft showing both the axial play in the bearing and teh bearing moving forward and backward.  Tell me if this is normal or what.  I understand the shaft is supported at the front so this movement couldn't possibly occur when the trans is fully assembled.

http://www.pup4x4.com/transrebuild/output1.mpg
http://www.pup4x4.com/transrebuild/output2.mpg

Any help would be appreciated on how to solve this problem, or without unecessarily rebuilding my transmission...