84 K10 acted like it hit a boulder and stopped rolling, but no boulder

[MountainGoat1966]

I was driving home the other day after cutting firewood, was using 4x4 mode offroad, but had the transfer case in 2H with hubs still locked in on the decent road.
Going about 5 MPH since the road is real bad and I had a heavier than normal load.
All of a sudden, the truck made a clunk and stopped rolling, just like I had hit a boulder.
Put it in reverse and was able to move backwards.
Unlocked the hubs and I was able to continue driving forward.
I suspect the front pinion bearing, as it was rough and made noise when I installed a limited slip carrier about a month ago but did not have the money for it and needed the 4x4 mode working due to mud.
I was hoping it would have lasted longer.
Now, I will obviously need to replace the front pinion bearing, but don't want to deal with the crush sleeve crap.
I saw somewhere (but can't find it now) there is a solution that uses shims and is much easier to set the preload.
It's a stock 8.5" 10 bolt axle.