Ok, WCS was correct. It was the axles.

1st of all, went to put the passenger side axle. Tapped the inner hub w/ a hammer and it popped in.

The drivers side was a different story. After about an hour and a half of tapping, turning etc, I pulled the hub / balljoint /lca apart again and removed the axle. The splines seemed ok, but there were markings on them that didn't match up. Went back to the part store to exchange it and was told 'CV joints are our most returned item. They are either boxed wrong or assembled wrong'.

Well, 2nd the new axle went in in litterally 30 seconds. and then 5 minutes later the car was rolling.

The clutch kit is awesome by the way. Exedy stage 1 and 8lb flywheel. No problems driving it as many people mentioned in other threads. In addition, the car is so much more responsive and nimble. I'd highly suggest this setup