I was able to resolve the issue with the hub - I contacted the bearing manufacturer and they recommended tightening further the axle nut to 180ft/lbs. Turns out there is actually a service bulletin to increase the torque. In the end though it was the distorted threads on the nut that were causing the issue. on a 1" bolt they are so strong its over 120ft/lbs to just thread the actual nuts let alone apply any torque to the bearing.
No more slop now :) but I probably didn't need to buy a whole new bearing :( ...
