While you've got it up in the air, you should inspect the drive shaft U-joint and carrier bearings. Recently my 88 DL wagon had the drive shaft go and it did something very similar. As far as the steering wheel problem goes, when a car is in the air the steering it will always sound different when turning. Check for difficulty turning at idle on the ground. With the car in the air inspect for the obvious (broken boots, slop, leaking red fluid)