Welcome! Thanks for the pictures and story! Wow! That lower control arm is scary. Very fortunate you made it back home in one piece.
I replaced all the ball joints, tie rod ends, control arm bushings, pitman arm, and idler arm on my '95. My steering is very tight. It doesn't take much slop in each joint to add up to a loose steering feel.
Casey
1995 K1500 Tahoe 2 door, 6.5LTD, 4L80E, NP241, 3.42's, 285/75R16 BFG K02's; 1997 506 block; Kennedy OPS harness, gauges, Quick Heat plugs, and TD-Max chip; Dtech FSD on FSD Cooler; vacuum pump deleted, HX35 turbo, Turbo Master, 3.5" Kennedy exhaust, F code intake; dual t/stats, HO water pump, Champion radiator; Racor fuel filter