Yes it is normal to have play in the output shaft with the driveshaft out, as long as it tighened up with the yoke in your all set. One maybe farfetched thing that was not specifically talked about is your trans. mount. it can let your eng./trans. move around during accel/decel or braking in gear. To check, place some sort of prying device between trans. and crossmember and pull down, if the trans. moves up and away from the rubber mount it is broken. This is an easy part to replace if needed. Good luck.