8 3/4 pinion shim question

The math of my situation so far is this. With the old bearing installed and a .040" shim, the marking compound shows a good pattern. However, the new bearing is .010" taller than the old bearing when I measure them with a caliper, so it would move the pinion further toward the back of the case (more into the gears). The only shims I got in my kit are .040", .025", and .020". If I use the .040" shim on the new bearing, the pinion will be .010" too far out, but if I use the .025" with the new bearing the pinion will be .005" too far in. I don't have a shim available to make up the exact difference in bearing heights. I checked the numbers and they are the exact same bearings, one is just old and probably worn out. My question is would it be better to shim the pinion too deep and expect the new bearing to compress some with use, or set it shallower and figure it will take a lot of time for the new bearing to wear that much?

And sorry, I edited my other post too late. I have a dial indicator and mag base, but I can't make any sense of the numbers on the pinion. It has the gear ratio and a bunch of other numbers on it, but nothing that seems like a measurement.