im gonna point the finger at your tranny. autos work in mysterious ways, too much fluid and valves and junk. although i do know a wquality rebuild compared to a budget rebuild is night and day from seeing buddies stuff.
these t cases are chain belt driven, so there is less of a chance of the clunk coming from the t case. when your truck is in 2wd, the front ds is dissconnected from the internals, the force needed to rotate the shaft is due to the clutch pack for your auto 4x4 mode. but it should turn by hand or tool force in 2wd when vehicle is stopped
i am not even close to an auto guy (never owned one---never will) i will leave the shifting up to me. but i am aware of how the t case works.
If You cant find em' Grind em'!
04 ECSB 2500 hd, 5 speed-NV 4500, CAI, Bullets, 285 Mt's
02 WS6