Yes this post is back! rlith, thanks for an awsome post its given me new hope on what I though was just maybe the way Blazers are, since my current '98 Blazer, my former '98 and my '88 S-10 pickup all suffer(ed) from considerable slop.
I'm pretty square on the rag joint replacement, but how extensive is replacing the box? I'm extremely intrigued by getting one with a tighter ratio.