appreciate all the imput fellas. its not the transfer casei dont think, i can hear the gears tryin to engage in the axle, they just wont all the way. ive had a habit of comin to a complete stop and neutral, then shiftin to 4 hi. some research has said that i can shift into 4x4 when i drive under a certain mph. im gonna try to engage in 4 hi while in a slow roll, maybe the gears are not lined up or somethin.

 

FWIW when you engaged the 4WD the shift fork in the CAD slides a collar to link the axles. If the teeth aren't lined up, it will not engage until they are. You may get a slight clunk, but it should still be fairly smooth (depends on how fast you are going, a slow roll is best IMHO).