Rebuilt 8.75 Sure-Grip - resistance and clunk

So, I got the car off the ground and the wheels off. I was able to remove the wheels with the car fully off the ground - in other words, it took at least 70ft/lbs of torque to get the wheels to even spin. Removed both brake shoes and the driveshaft.

I think a good part - possibly all - of it was the brakes dragging. I think the pop *might* have been the brake letting loose. That, or it's the lash switching between forward and reverse. I think that's when the pop/clunk is actually happening and the turning was coincidental. I only made it 20 feet out of my garage and back, so the "turn" was very slight. There does seem to be a very, very small amount of lash at the axle, but no more than my 7.25.

With the brakes off it still doesn't "spin" - ie it takes constant force to rotate it, but my 7.25 is the same way. The 7.25 definitely takes less force, but maybe this is just down to bigger, sure-grip diff vs open diff?

Edit: the 7.25 is 2.76:1, the 8.75 is 3.23:1. Green bearings are the ones from Mancini racing and axles are factory. The thrust pin was removed by the shop.