Virgin housing setup questions, 8 3/4

I read on here that on your pinion gear there is a spec to get started with and then shim from there. Some people hone the inside of the pinion bearing so you can tap on and off by hand for shimming or buy a cheap Rock auto bearing to hone and get shimming right before pressing on your good bearing. Wait for more responses. I figured if I posted it would get the ball rolling with responses.
Can't help you with spline count. IDK