Front end thumping sound

So, the day after I get my heat working again and I start hearing a thumping sound from the front end of my '06 Denali. If this sounds familiar to anyone please feel free to give me some input. Here are are the symptoms:

The thumping seems to match the tire/axle speed. It comes in at around 15 mph and gets faster as truck accelerates normally. Thumping speed decreases when decelerating and continues until truck stops.

Thumping goes away during hard acceleration. It then starts back up as soon as speed levels out.

Noise will briefly go away when braking hard and comes back when brake is released but it stays there when braking normally.

Slight decrease if I turn wheel left fairly abruptly, but change is not always obvious. No real noticeably change on gradual left turns or curves. No real change turning right.

There is a slight steering vibration that seems to match the sound.


Here is what I found so far:

Jacked up left front corner and got tire of the ground. Grabbed at 12:00 and 6:00 and tried to wiggle. Seemed tight but may have been a tiny bit of play, but not like any other worn wheel bearing (hub assembly) I have seen before. Any play, if any, was so slight that I can't say for sure. Couldn't tell if any left to right wiggle since I discovered my inner tie rod is worn.

Wiggled CV axles and did not find any obvious play, maybe slight.

Climbed underneath and checked pinion on front differential. There was not a leak at the seal and could not get any movement in any direction.

Checked right side axle seal at differential, which I knew leaked. Of course it still leaks but I found no wiggle at the axle flange.

The drivers side, which was not leaking last I checked, was now leaking. I pushed and pulled on the axle flange and found a bit of play in in it. Seems to move up and down but not left and right. It's not a huge amount (similar to a wheel bearing I had on my minivan as it just started to go out) but should it move at all?

Any help would be appreciated. I parked the truck and am driving my old minivan. Now I remember why I stopped driving the minivan and got a truck!

Thanks.

get it up on a lift and put it in gear and see where the noise is coming from, alternatively 4 jack stands, really hard to guess otherwise. most transmission shops will eyeball it for you at no cost on the hopes they might get a job from it, that's my best advice if you don't have some jack stands.

I have had hub bearings make horrible noises and still be very tight when you tried the 12 and 6 wiggle so if you can`t find anything else responsible for the noise it could still be the bearings.

AWD denali`s are known to chew up front differentials so pull the drain plug and see if the magnet is loaded with metal.

I found the problem and I don't know if I should be relieved, embarrassed or worried. I found that 5 of the 6 front left lug nuts were loose. I would have thought that would have been discovered when I was checking the wheel bearing. I'm a little paranoid now because I do not know how it happened. I have not had the wheel off since I swapped over to the winter rims back in September and I used a torque wrench on everything that time. I'll have to check those lug nuts on a regular basis. Well, on to the next problem.

maybe someone had some bright idea to steal your wheels? lug nuts just don't come loose on there own in general anyway, a locking lug nut set is a cheap preventative measure.

someone want you dead? get along with the wife? Have a large insurance policy?

FYI dont run the AWD Denalis on a lift for more than a few seconds or you'll damage the transfer case.