I intend to open up the case to see if there is any damage, or at least any damage I can see. I am so sick of pulling and re-installing that tranny, that I will do anything I can to avoid having to do it again if I can help it.

Actually, the tranny is in some ways the least of the problem - it is all the other stuff that has to come off to get the tranny out. The last time out, it took two of us about 3 hours to pull the tranny, strip down the tcase, re-load the whole thing and re-install the tranny. It really helped having two sets of hands to hold the dog clutches in place and to install the infamous snap ring.