4WD front end problem

Jack the vehicle up under the lower control arms to remove all weight from the wheel bearings, then loosen the axle nuts a few turns. Use your thumb to push in on the axle stub shaft / outer CV joint. It should push in a good half inch or more, then pop back under spring pressure. If they do, the shafts are not binding.

If the shafts really are binding, how were you able to reconnect the ball joints?

The point of jacking the vehicle up is this type of wheel bearing can instantly become noisy and make a loud buzzing noise if the axle nut is not torqued to specs any time there's vehicle weight on it. The reason for jacking it by the lower control arms is to maintain normal suspension geometry when the shaft free play is being checked. The shaft extends a little when the suspension drops. That could hide a binding problem.

Camber is adjusted by loosening the two bolts with the purple arrows, and removing an equal thickness of shims from behind each one. Be aware if you have positive camber high enough that you can see it by eye, there likely are not enough shims to remove.

My mistake on the wheel bearings. This is what is listed for your front half shafts. The arrow is pointing to the inner CV joint. That is where the spring is inside. The inner end of the shaft moves in and out to adjust the shaft's length as you turn and go up and down over bumps in the road. That spring is also what keeps the inner joint in the differential.

I still don't see how the half shafts can cause the problems you described. I agree that correct ride height is critical for proper alignment as it keeps all the steering and suspension parts in the correct geometric relationship, but if there's a problem with the half shafts, you wouldn't have been able to reconnect all the suspension parts. You would also have noticed some handling problems when you drove to the alignment shop.

The only thing I can guess is the inner CV joints aren't fully seated into the differential housing, but that should result in fluid leakage. I have had some trouble with some vehicles with the circlip on the end of the inner stub shaft not wanting to pop into place, but again, there would have been fluid leakage, and the spindle would not have been able to reach the lower ball joint's stud to be reconnected.

Would it be possible to ask your alignment tech specifically what he saw wrong with the half shafts?