Looking for some affirmation (8 3/4 rebuild not successful)

IMO, I think all you gotta do is give it a tad more backlash and watch the pattern climb up the tooth a bit. The pinion depth looks pretty dar n close, but it could use a tiny bit more
shim, but I mean tiny.So I would increase the backlash first, to the max allowable, and see what happens.On the street you can get away with quite a bit of backlash.
The spec is .006 to .008, but I've had to run as loose as .012/.013.. Some patterns want what the want. If that concerns you, call the manufacturer