Turns out that when the pump was disassembled, the snap ring holding the seal to the shaft snapped the second it was expanded. Instantaneous validation that doing the rebuild now probably saved a lost weekend and a headache on the water.

The rebuild kit was purchased from an eBay seller with the name: rawpumps

The pump rebuild kit was just about $110 with tax and shipping. It includes new bearings, a new impeller, a new set of seals, an O-Ring, and all the snap rings required for the rebuild.

Turns out his shop is in East Peoria which is not too far from my home in Bloomington, IL.

The pump was disassembled and reassemble in a friends shop. No issues with that. You're going to need a hydraulic press.

Upon reassembling the cam to the inside of the impeller housing, it was noted the old cam was much smaller than the replacement cam. I thought the old one may have had some wear on it due to being in service for almost 40 years. NOPE!!!

Turns out there are two sizes of cams which can be used on these pumps. An email message was sent off due to the discrepancy in size. 

Here is Joe's response "There is a chance yours did wear down but the 5.7L V8 needs the flow to keep it cool."