I finally got enough energy to go out and battle the brakes in the '57 again (I've been working this for a year now and I'm getting tired of it). So here's what I did and what I discovered:

I completely removed the e-brake from the rear drums
I filled the very small groves in the three pads on the backing plates with mig welder and ground them smooth
I verified everything is put together correctly
There is no axle shaft run-out
Rear springs/u-bolts/shackles in good shape

No big change after this work and when I get back from the test drive the rear brake drums (especially the left one) are very hot but the front drums are just warm.

Now, I also did something else. I put a brake valve inline to reduce pressure to the rear brakes. When I start to close it the rear brake will not lock up as easy but the pedal starts getting pretty hard. So I put a pair of vice grips on the rear rubber brake line to remove both rear brakes from the equation. When I did that the brake pedal got VERY HARD with minimal travel and it took 30 yards to slow to stop from 25 mph. It was take me 1/4 mile to stop on the highway.

Am I fighting the wrong problem? I wondering if both front brakes are doing enough? Again, everything there is new as well...