It sort of fixed itself! (wierd...)
so i drove the car over to where they have a bunch of cinderblocks (jackstand...) , so it's pretty bumpy getting over there, back the car up, load in some cinder blocks, and on the way back i hit a pretty gnarly pothole, and eurika! my steering is easy again, there's still a little bump in the steering, but nowhere near the severity of before.
But anyhow, jacked it up, looked around, and i didn't see anything out of place, bent, you name it. i guess it was just some mud, or rocks, or something jammed in.. somewhere.
On the speed test, there's still a little vibration around 55mph and up, but i think there might just be some dried mud making the wheels out of balance.
On the subject of a lift... what would you all suggest? I was thinking bigger springs? or blocks above the struts? any ideas?