bolt broke in yoke options

If re-using the pinion nut just make sure you loctite it!

You are supposed to replace that nut. In theory it is a one-time use piece of hardware.

It has to do with how it locks. It locks by deformation of the metal. Once you have taken it off and then replaced it the metal is no longer adequately deformed to grip the threads. In essence, the running it on and off and back on is like tapping it out. It ceases to be a lock nut.

On the last Moab get-together Chuck (Chuck61920 or something close to that) lost his rear axle because the pinion nut came loose and allowed the pinion to move forward into the gear set, fully locking his rear axle. No movement forward or aft of the entire vehicle. The vehicle could only be moved by a tow truck lifting the rear axle off the ground. We were all very lucky that he made it off the trail and back into civilization before that happened. Point being, you really want that pinion nut to do its job. A failure there can really mess up your day.

How then does one get this torqued properly, there's a large variance for this.?

Otherwise marking with a punch and some loctite makes sense right.

Since you have shims and not a crush sleeve I would torque it to spec like it was a new installation.

I should have added that on a D30 that is 200-220ft/lbs.