[slikside]

The "grinding" you describe, does it sound like metal on metal, material on metal, or rubber on metal? In thinking back on mine, it was more like material (like brake pads) on metal(and had me chasing my tail for a while!), but was actually metal on rubber...more squeaky than grinding, if that makes sense. And was confirmed to be the driveline carrier bearing.

In my description above, I said I spun the wheel with my foot, but really it was just oscillating the wheel just a few inches in both directions...

I would recommend a more silent approach than running the whole drivetrain. With it all unloaded like that, it may be more difficult to hear a subtle sound, which could otherwise be louder when loaded up.

Keep plugging away, you'll get it figured out.