Did you take a glance at the other brake post, and the vid I posted? They do need to have some drag, but you’re a pretty hossy-sized mf, so your definition of putting some mojo on turning the wheel seems a little snug.
One thing you might want to check is the rear section of the e-brake cable. The cable can crud-up, not articulating freely, a very common problem; as a result, it spreads the shoes slightly, enough to cause the problem you describe. Also, check the adjustment on the e-brake cable, and make sure that it’s slack, not loaded up.
This works in my mind’s eye, so it’s worth a try. Tear your other side down, but this time, pull the e/brake cable from the backing plate. Take a small hose clamp, put it over the end of the e-brake cable that goes inside of the backing plate. Install it low enough on the cable to compress the holding tabs, but away from the backing plate so that you can push the cable out. Tighten the clamp enough to compress the tabs, and the cable will slide out.
One you have it out, wallow it in and out some and see how freely it moves; also, hoss around with it to ensure that you have slack on the other side. Once you know that you have ample slack for the tight driver’s side, pull the drum, hammer the shoes in place to seat them; use a deadblow, rubber hammer, 2x4, whatever proper tool for hammering on brake shoes. If they compress down, and give you slack, you know what the problem is.
