Just curious about a couple of things. Is my Dana 20 on a '77 CJ-7 a standard rotation rear end? Would a an '87 Wrangler Dana 44 be a reverse rotation?

they should both be standered. but i don't think that year YJ came with a dana 44... i bet it was out of a cherokee or somthing.

As far as I know, rears are standard. the front front could be reverse. If I remember correctly the rear has more strength being standard and the front will have more strength being reverse. But then again that is my brain trying to function at 6:30am after 12hrs at work.

Very few rears are high pinion (the teeth would be running on the coast side of the ring and more prone to wear because the pinion would be pushed away.) There are NO high pinion Model 20s. (not even the ones on the early Humvees) After '89, the fronts started going more to high pinion. Reverse rotation only happens when you take an axle from the back and put it in front!

No Jeep rear axle was ever reverse cut. BTW, contrary to what many magazines print, the term reverse rotation is incorrect. The gears turn the same direction, but they are cut opposite of standard since the pinion is on the upper side of the ring gear.

No YJ Wrangler ever came with a Dana 44 either.

That "Dana" 20 is actually an AMC 20. A Dana 20 is a transfer case.

CSP got that mostly right, BUT YJ Wranglers most certainly DID come with optional DANA 44 (but not high pinion of course!) I forgot to mention about the rear axle being a Model 20 (same as the Dana 35 is also known as a Model 15 in AMC cars) and that a Dana/Spicer 20 is an early transfercase.
When the axle is in the front, it is a reverse turning diff, which is why a high pinion is better for that application.

sure you're not thinking of a tj wrangler?

the YJ 44 is VERY rare.. assuming that he means a swapped in cherokee is a safe bet.... kinda like finding a factory stretched YJ..

Maybe in the US they weren't put in a lot of rigs, but I'm from Canada and worked for Golden Ears motor (Jeep dealer) and there were quite a few. No torch marks on the axles (YJs are spring under, and Cherokee are spring over plus shocks are in the right place) Same with Comanche, which might be a bolt in (It's SUA also, but I never tried bolting one in)
I'm currently doing a SOA rear on my Comanche with a Model 20 ('86 only Metric tonne models came with them stock) I picked up from a scrapyard. They came with 1 piece axles like '80 up full size Jeeps (IE: Grand Wagoneer and Jtrucks) but have the same bolt pattern as XJs. (Brake drums were REALLY hard to find as they were 11". I had to redrill some IH ones that had the right offset)

Maybe in export markets, but not in the US.