Welding a back brace on a 8 3/4, any advice??

maybe its an optical illusion, but those ends look off center.

They probably are indeed off center (tubtar can verify) but the axle isn't. If a housing is bent, you can either straighten the housing or relocate the housing end using a gage to locate center relative to the 3rd member. Either way the axle, 3rd member, and car don't know the difference.