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Probably a bad bearing in the xfer, I had the same issue. That might also explain the high rolling resistance. Had same noise in mine and when I tore down the case it had issues. Done with rebuild, but haven't re installed yet to see. I knew it was transfer because I ran it with a longer driveshaft and case removed. Even though noise changed with trans gear selection and it looked like a trans problem, all noise went away when xfer removed. If you have access to a 2wd drive shaft, it is the ultimate way to trouble shoot it.
Good luck
Tom