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I also don't see the dovetail body piece (10- ASSY-DOWN STOPPER DO(OR) 80581-E4100) below the door striker. Not necessarily a must but definitely a help as it also can provide a little push to open the door and also help with the alignment of the door to the body. As noted above, it's the alignment of the striker in relation to the door latch that is the problem. The rotating latch should never end up jammed against the striker or it won't be able to turn (rotate) and release. The striker on the body needs to be aligned so the round latch doesn't touch it's sides - only the lobe(s) coming out of the latch. The oblong lobe should contact the striker first and begin the rotation of the latch that's necessary for the door to close and reopen properly. When aligned properly, the round lobe rotates and comes to rest in that bottom groove on the striker when the door is closed. The lobe is the only part of the latch that should be contacting the striker. (There are two lobes - one with a rounded end - the other is oblong. The oblong lobe contacts the striker first (and from the factory has a hard-ish rubber covering which is generally non-existent in most Z's after 40+ years of use)) If you had x-ray vision, you could see all this first hand... To recreate the factory oblong lobe covering, I use a piece of 3/8" plastic tubing first cut to length the width of the oblong lobe, then slit down the length of the tubing and pulled apart to create a "C" which can be slipped over the oblong lobe. This adds the width the factory intended and helps the door to close and latch smoothly. Research "Slamming Door Issue" for info.

Not super clear what's happening. How about a softball in the cargo box behind the passemger seat? You mentioned the diff, you could swap stub axles. You didn't mention the hub flanges. Might have a bent hub axle. Or, maybe it just sounds like the rear but is actually from the front.

Anyone know what a set of MK63s in need of new pads and possibly a bleed screw ball bearing worth? I'm assuming the pistons are in good shape because the brakes were wearing evenly. I was going to send them back for the core charge until you experts out there pointed out they were not Toyota units. That would of been a waste.

I'd lift the rear end, take the wheels off turn the wheels and check if you can see or hear it.

Thanks. I found the one reference to reverse. Doesn't look like the guy actually had the pop-out-of-gear problem though. Yours is the first I've seen describing reverse. If your fix fixed it, great. Your post was a surprise. Carry on.

If it were me, I am a builder, I would run a sub fascia across the end of all the rafters. A 2x6 at a minimum or maybe a 2x8. I would add rafters at the window and door with out the braces. Fastened well on the building side and the sub fascia. I would then strap the top with 1x4's a 16"OC or maybe even 12"OC. Then I would run the panel on top of the 1x4s with flutes aligned with the slope. The sub fascia should help span the gap that's not braced and the 1x4's will also help. Rain is not the issue, snow load might be... I would use screws like GRK's for assembly versus nails to try to lock it all together