I know you aren't locked in the front but before I started my rebuild I began to notice some lag in my power steering on the last trip. There was plenty of fluid and the belt hardly slipped but with a welded front I assumed it was the culprit for the pump going south. I overheated the saginaw pump which ruined the seals and internals. Ended up taking it to Oreilly's as a core to get a new one.

I would assume that the pump is the problem and not the steering box. Is it the same pump that has been on the Klogger all along? After research and rebuilding my steering box for hydro assist the main problem that people mentioned with steering boxes gone bad is slop in the steering from the output/pitman shaft.