my first 742 case rebuild, need alittle advice please

I use set up bearings that slide on and off with ease. I have one for the 741,742,489 case. Makes life a lot easier. When I start chasing a good pattern, I make .010 changes which I consider a large amount until I push the pattern to far past the pattern I was looking for. Then I'll make .003-.005 changes till I'm happy. Now the whole time I'm doing this, I don't set the preload every time I make pinion depth change. I only set preload after I get my pattern. I merely install the pinion and bearings along with the yoke and use the old pinion nut, and snug it down to get zero play and work on my pattern using this method. After I get the pattern I want, I take it apart and then use the small shims to get the right preload. I then take the yoke off one last time, install the new seal , yoke and new pinion nut and torque it. Make sense?