re: Problems with gear slop on 1997 Unisaw

I’m certainly about as far away from an expert as I can be, but what you’re describing sounds like worn gears to me. Stable in one position owing to the vector of the mass of the blade and trunion, but unstable when the weight is cantilevered. In time, the unstable weight would cause more wear to the associated sections of the gears. Especially if lots of adjustment was may on that section of the gear. 

Again, I don’t know what I’m talking about, but it makes sense this way to me.