That makes a lot of sense Mike. I have to go see Mel next week as he's cutting the rear shackles for me on his water table. He'd be able to overbend the tops of the stirrups and correct the angle to match the J-bolts, and that might help the alignment over the diff as well. I looked at the holes earlier today and there's a bit of room for the holes to move outwards a smidge.
Those ideas would help the J-bolts fit better
Thanks for the suggestions, Mike.