Been playing with shims for the last week. Ended up making a set of mock-up carrier bearings that could slip on and off. Makes all the difference in the world. Had to shallow up the pinion ever so slightly and make a few other adjustments.
Got the last of my D60 parts and got the rearend mocked up and oh boy it looks good! Plan is to drop the engine/trans in next week and set pinion angle. Then pull them back out to start the painless wiring kit, coolmaster AC install, pedals, brake and fuel lines.