Thanks all. walking away last night was probably a good call on my part. I knew I had done everything correctly and was racking my brain as to what could have happened.

Turns out the "whirring noise (and ratcheting) was coming from the transfer case. I was in HI range on the NP203. No front drive shaft. It was in that state that the conditions existed. When I went to HI LOC everything worked and after installing front driveshaft and exercising the xfer case, everything fell into place.

Trans works great. No leaks. What a relief.

Appreciate all the feedback fellas.