hi Russ,
i'm no expert,but i've been around the dock a few times...your 888 is the mod.1 drive,i Know that it won't take the torque,or your style of driving for very long..if you stick with the mod.1s, buy a couple extras, that way you can have one on the boat while the other two are being rebuilt....OR your better alternative is up grade to the alpha,it will take the abuse a bit longer,+ all the holes will be in the right places...with the mod.1s you'll be looking at sheared,twisted vertical shafts,+ broken gear teeth on the upper,+ lower gears...
i think what tinkerboater was getting to on the tight gearlash was, the loopyness of the cam causes the outdrive gear teeth to bang together,cracking,+ eventually breaking them off..combined with your stated driving style,WILL lead to a very close friendship with your favorite outdrive rebuilder....