But do you know if removing the front drive shaft for the "short term" will affect anything else? I did this once on a '99 Durango, but that was a total different set up. I'm not very 4x4 savy.... thanks
You can absolutely remove the front shaft without any damage at all.
People did it all the time for exactly the reasons you want to.
(4x4 drivetrain certified here) well, used to be :D