Sorry 'bout that. Here's the update:
I knew that my inner CV boot was torn, but I was just too lazy to replace it. I kept saying to myself that I would replace it next week, then next week, then....you get the idea. I don't think that it was torn before Moab, but I can't really be sure. Either way that CV was open to the elements for quite some time. I started paying attention to it when, after a three hour drive over a rutted, dusty, dirt road, I was getting a vibration/harmonic at highway speeds. I didn't hear the CV clicking so I didn't think that was it. Thought it might be low T-case fluid, or a bad transmission mount. Checked both of those and everything was OK. Just as a test I put the VX into 4 low and the noise got worse on top of finally hearing the clicking.
Brought the VX to a trusted mechanic and they put it up on a lift, stuck in drive, applied a little brake and got some HORRIBLE noises out of the front end, so I've heard. Luckily I wasn't there or I probably would have passed out because my baby was in such pain. They dis-assembled the front drivers side CV and found that the outer race (the "green cup") had some grooves and checks in it that shouldn't have been there. The axle shaft is being sent off to a CV place in Denver (I'm three hours away) to see if it can be rebuilt since you can't remove the "green cup" from the axle.
I'm just trying to hunt down a drivers side axle just in case mine can't be rebuilt. Actually they would probably have to machine the green cup thinner so I may just want to go with a new axle anyway.
The moral of the story, kids, is to replace your CV boots as soon as they tear or you'll be looking at a much more expensive fix.
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong, it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair."
-Douglas Adams, Mostly Harmless
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