bull pinion slop

It seems that the Bull Pinion is held in place on the outer end by a bearing, and on the inner end by the splines engaged in the differential bevel gear (which is inside the diff case, which is held in place by bearings on each end). The bull pinion bearing is acting as a pivot point, and the pull pinion is able to move side to side, like a seesaw moves up and down. The OD of the inner part of the bull pinion is .090 smaller than the ID of the differential case, so the only thing that could hold the inner end steady is the diff bevel gear (which it is not). So finally getting to my question, is this side play normal? Has anyone else seen it? If its not normal, what is the fix?

As it turns out there were half a dozen bad bearings on the input shaft, countershaft, and main shaft, so even if I dont get this part fixed to my satisfaction it was still worth opening the transmission up.

As Bob said, there are 2 bearings in the bull pinion cage. The outer one holds the pull pinion itself. The inner one doesnt hold the bull pinion, but rather it holds one end of the differential. The splines inside the differential, in turn, hold the inner end of the bull pinion. Now, if theres slop in the splines, or if the differential bevel gear can move inside the differential case, there ends up being slop in the other end of the bull pinion.

Regarding when bearings are considered bad, how much 'looseness' can one live with? I have measured the side slop in some bearings, and they range from .008 to .020. Im thinking that .008 in the axle shaft bearings is fine, but .020 in the pull pinion bearings is not. Bearing slop that allows a gear to pretty much move sideways, like the bull gear, shouldnt be much of an issue, as long as the gears stay aligned (shafts stay parallel) with each other.