I know you did not drive the car it was just advice for you in the future and for anyone else reading this without a mechanical background. The reason you could not feel the play is because your drum was so tight because of the brake problems, presumably people won't be driving cars in that shape at least without knowing and will be able to feel the up and down play of a bearing on the way out. The Bearing will fluctuate from slightly welding it self together jamming up to grinding/breaking itself apart many times on it's way to total destruction. As far as breaking axles is this going to be a drag car on slicks with a high end torque and horsepower motor? if not don't worry about it. And yes if some one drove that car to long with a very tight drum It will and I have seen it fry the grease right out of a bearing, we used to get them towed in when I was a young mechanic. One time I was sent out on a wrecker call to pick up a car on the highway that had caught fire in the right front from pushing it to far with a tight caliper. luckily someone had stopped with an extinguisher and saved the car but was an expensive repair. the Bearing had seized on that to and spun /ruined the spindle.