Drivetrain Troubleshooting - vibrations, jerky acceleration (2.7L manual transmission)

Hi Everyone,

I am in the middle of a long distance road trip (3,000 km of 5,000 km complete) and my 2009 Tacoma (2.7L, manual, 4x4, ~260,000 km, running 275/r16/75 tires) has started to develop some concerning symptoms. The truck is relatively new to me so I don't have a lot of history to share. What I have noticed has gotten progressively worse from the start of the trip. I don't have a lot of weight in the truck so it's not overloaded. Just a few totes, a bicycle and a passenger.

symptoms:

1) jerky acceleration or tugging during acceleration in 1st and 2nd gear

2) prominent high-pitched squeaking that I can hear coming from the underside of the Tacoma when in gear, accel or decel, but not in neutral.

3) A low-frequency vibration or rumble at high speeds in 4th and 5th under acceleration, but also a little when in gear and decelerating. I had thought since it's a 4-cyl and my tires are larger than stock I may be straining the drive train, but since it's happening under deceleration that doesn't seem to fit.

I have an appointment at a garage tomorrow that I have no relationship with. To get ahead of what they might advise I wanted to seek opinions, if any have some to offer on what the issue might be. Many thanks in advance if you have any opinions you're willing to share. I did do a little digging and it sounds like clutch or U-joint could both be culprits.

https://imgur.com/a/x6w16lP

 

In case others come across this thread, the issues were resolved with a u joint replacement. Tugging / jerky acceleration and squeaking are gone. Haven't had it up to highway speed yet, but feels much better.