So, I installed new Koyo wheel bearings w/seals and pressed the hubs fully into the knuckles. Gave them a few spins and they felt acceptably free. Happy with my progress I turned to my left in search for a tool only to find the brake dust shields sitting there all alone

Back onto the press the knuckles went: pressed the hubs out, installed the brake dust shields, then pressed the hubs back in.

Afterwards both hubs were noticeably tighter and took a bit of effort to spin. I bolted them to a free wheel lying on its face and gave the spindle a push to see how many rotations I could get. One of them gave me about 3/4 of a turn and the other gave me one full spin. These feel like they're producing too much drag.

I did notice that the face of the bearing was pushed up a little beyond the snap ring after pressing the hub out. Unfortunately, I only assumed that it would push back into place after pressing the hub back in. Looking back, I should've pressed the bearing back into its position as there's no way of telling if it's back in place or not with the hub installed. As far as I can tell, it's plausible that this could be the culprit of the drag.

I'd hate to take it all apart again and risk damaging the bearing just to know that it's fully seated. Not sure how many hub install/uninstall cycles it can take. I'm very tempted to do this.

Am I being overly concerned with the performance I'm getting out of these bearings or have I already killed them?

Usually, the bearings start to come apart internally when pressed apart. I did the same thing you did, although I noticed my brake shield when the bearing was about 1/3 the way pressed on and it still started to come apart. I would have replaced them and bit the $66 bullet for each bearing, just so I don't have to do that job again.
On a side note, It sounds like you got it back together with the snap ring in place. They are supposed to be tight, but smooth. If yours feel smooth, I would just move forward. If you have the money however, you could just replace them for piece of mind.

Thanks for the response. I read about your experience in another post when I was searching but, I was not able to relate with the bearing separation issue. Did yours separate with the snap ring still in place?

One of the old bearing races had broke into a few pieces when I initially pressed out the hubs for the first time. Didn't notice it untill the snap ring was removed. The snap ring was being pushed outwards but still kept it all together. I had to press the bearing back in to remove the snap ring for both sides. This actually prompted me to put a light coating of high temp grease over the hub to make assembly/disassembly smoother. However, they still went in and out by "popping" a few mm at a time instead of gliding as I had hoped for.

Bummer... IIRC the FSM indicates the bearings are "non-reusable." While replacing mine, I noticed the originals did not seem to spin as smoothly as they did prior to removing... Perhaps they get distorted in the removal process?

I know it doesn't help now, but for future reference: the dust shields can be modified to remove/install without pressing the whole works apart. You will loose 1 bolt hole, but they are still held plenty secure/rigid. Here are a few shots of mine to give you an idea (also note they are trimmed for 13WL calipers).

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Son of a ! I considered doing this but talked myself out of it. Dust shields are ~$50 each new, whereas the bearings are ~$60 each. I chanced it thinking that the bearings would hold.

If I do pull the hubs out again, I may try reseating the bearings to see if that works, but at that point I will want to have new bearings in hand in case it doesn't work out.

They spin smoothly but are tight. I might chance running them to see if they'll work out. Perhaps they will loosen/free up some? I'd rather not have to eat a day/weekend up and pay $120 in stupid tax

Edit: I'm using a 2002 service manual and I can't find anywhere it states that the bearings are non-reusable.

"I noticed the originals did not seem to spin as smoothly as they did prior to removing... Perhaps they get distorted in the removal process?"

The factory bearings are made a bit loose when uninstalled. After installing it into the shaft, it will run smoothly. Non-OEM bearings are smooth before the installation and after sliding it into the shaft, it will run tight.

A bit loose is almost an understatement. It feels like the new koyo bearings will just about fall apart when handling them out of the box.

I actually had purchased a third bearing after handling the other two new ones thinking that they were broke because of how much play there was in them. I was going to return it, but I think I may change out the tighter of the two bearings to see how it reacts. If I pay $60 in stupid tax now, I can make a better decision on whether the other bearing will need to be replaced before having to take it all off the truck again. If I see little to no difference, I'll essentially have a new spare wheel bearing. Otherwise, if it saves me 1mpg, I can recuperate the stupid tax in about 3 months with the amount of driving I do.

In my 1999 manual it is in the exploded view on page SA-8. (Diamond symbol = non-reusable).

You're absolutely right. It's on page SA-9 in the 2002. Then again, it also says that the oil seals & snap rings are not reusable and plenty of others have reused them and I havent heard of any failures yet (I know I know, apples to oranges).

I've got nothing to lose but money, time, and blood on this thing.