I just went out and fumbled with my flashlight, ruler, and camera until i could get the following picture. It looks like the diameter of the pinion shaft at the peaks of the splines (is that the correct way to measure?) is 1 3/16"=1.1875". I have a pic that I modified in paint below.
This site says that the dana44 has a pinion diameter of 1.376"=1 3/8" :
http://www.drivetrainspecialists.com...-44/index.html
After hunting some more, I found this site that says the diameter is 1.146", which is within 4 hundreds of what I measured visually.
http://www.arizonadrivelines.com/Tra..._end_yokes.htm
Are there two different common pinion shaft diameters for Dana 44's? If so, is there a way to tell what trucks would have my diameter without ripping into them?
JTrux, thanks for the model/year information. $300 is just about what I got quoted earlier today for a custom shaft at a local shop. The thing that started getting me concerned was that they didn't have a pinion yoke that fit.
BadChev, once I get this pinion diameter problem figured out, I'll most likely be looking for a cherokee front shaft. If I break it too quick, I'll get something made. I'm pretty impressed that it will hold up the your 11" lift.