As I mentioned above, I could skip the front diff and probably not miss it at all.
I don't get stuck often, and if I get stuck in the desert these days, it was pretty much bad technique... stopping on an incline, breaking too hard in sand, bogging from not holding a lower gear /loosing momentum in deeper sand. Nothing I cant fix with the traction pads and a shovel I do carry.
That said, I still have other groups of friends who are avid trail junkies and do wheel their trucks. I've been on enough trips where even a rear locker would have saved me from needing to reach for a tow strap and a radio to call back a friend.
I need to understand more about my 4Runner traction control systems. When I think TRAC "A-TRAC" engages often enough that it nannies throttle from wheel spin. To be honest I spend almost 80% of my driving in the desert with the center transfer case locked just to disable VSC and all that other junk.
Going off topic, I have though of the wire cut / switch mod, or simply dumping my zero point calibration just so I don't have to modify anything. Still a theory I need to test this season.
Considering I can't drive in 2WD without turning off these items, I am always in 4Hi or Low with center locked.
I just want better power delivery in the rear, and the ability to do a little steering with the throttle.
That said, I still like the idea of a mechanical Torsen / LSD, which would allow me to completely dump the need for TRAC / A-TRAC to work.