As much as I hate to put off installing the GVOD, I'll have to. Up here in the PNW, shops are too either way too expensive (i guess they are short on work, or don't like doing it) or are too backed up for work (as in, months) if they are cheaper.
There's a shop in Yuma that will shorten and balance steel (only) driveshafts for a pretty decent price, but the guy claims they only need to balance the front one. Hmmmmmm. And he also said no guarantee on the balancing if it's used with a GVOD, because he has had nothing but bad luck with them having vibration on many vehicles that coudn't be gotten rid of. He said he used to sell GVODs but the vibration problem was so bad on many installed, he quit selling them and won't warranty the balance side of things if used with one, basically.
Well, I'd just drop a spare driveshaft off to him for him to shorten and do the installation myself at the LTVA probably. Unless it's cheaper for him to just build one, but I doubt it. It's cheaper to buy a few tools (ie u-joint pliers) than to pay for a GVOD install. Although depending on what he'd charge, I might just pay him to do that too, since you do need to support the transmission and undo the crossmember to pull the extension housing for swapping to the GV one. Maybe a heavy ratchet strap would be enough to support the trans but I'd be working in dirt and rocks (unless I get a huge heavy trap and park on top of it to keep it in place) so it wouldn't be very fun. Better off having it done safely for a few hundred bucks, probably.
Might just have him shorten the existing one and store a spare, so it can be done all at once: pull the driveshaft, replace u-joints, carrier bearing, shorten/balance it, install the GVOD, put it back together.