Live & Learn, I guess.....
Good news is that perhaps all I lost was a set of bearings and gaskets. Heck, almost sounds like a good trade for some worthwhile knowledge. And if the cause of this issue is in fact assembly "grit", I would consider that much better than what I feared.

I'm still leary of the crank, though. I'll have it magged and checked out and report back on what I find.