[AyeJaye]

So I finally had a chance to lift the front end up and wiggle everything around. Nothing feels out of place. Ball joints seem solid, tie rod ends look like hell but they're not loose. There is a bit of play in the steering however, and it appears that I have a small leak somewhere in the steering system, most likely coming from the rack itself.

Finally got a couple pictures too. They're camera phone pics, but they give you the general idea at least.