A833 1-2 Clutch Sleeve Gear Binding

Slant6Racer42 said
It would seem that even if I had a thicker center bearing, it still result in the same gear endplay due to that shoulder...but I could be wrong!

not wrong, you got that right. The big snapring in the tail, locates the entire gear train in the case, so that they stay in their designed relationship. End play on first gear should be a non-issue.