Also forgot to update! I got the rear end installed at work today. Took around 5 hours. I decided to go with the 3.27 gears for right now, I'll save the 3.55's for a later date. Everything went smoothly. I replaced both axle seals and the pinion seal while I had it apart, completely cleaned the unit and filled with fresh Amsoil 75W-140.
I also replaced the shocks: the bushing was shoved out of the RR one, and they were OE anyways. From the looks of it the hardest hit part was the LR upper watts arm. It had a severe bend in it.
The caliper was ruined, and it needed rear brakes anyways so it got 1 new caliper and fresh ceramic pads/rotors as well. The old parking brake shoes were in great shape so I cleaned up the hardware and reinstalled.
The front wheel has a small chip out of it, however I re-balanced the tire and the rim checked out fine (including road force).
I tossed OE full size spare on the rear just as a test and took her for a drive. The rear end sounds great, it was in AMAZING shape after I got it all cleaned up. Better than mine was. She tracks dead straight, the steering wheel is dead straight, and I have no warning lights. I'm going to swap the 245/55 on the spare wheel tomorrow and then put it on the rack for an alignment. That will be the real test.