Driveline and Pinion Angles

Transmission angles down, driveshaft angles up off the transmission, but downward to the pinion, which is nosed down.

THIS MAKES NO SENSE WHAT IS the engine/ transmission centerline compared to level?

What the driveshaft is doing does not mean squat. You want the pinion in relation to the crank/ transmission centerline. So you measure that compared to level. You measure the pinion compared to level. And you figure out how many degrees down the pinion is compared to the crank/ transmission.

You want those two shafts parallel or close to that when under hard acceleration.

The only time the drive shaft means squat is when you have a jacked up 4x4 or a "dump truck"