Well, I'm feeling pretty confident that the pilot bushing is the cause of the drivetrain squeal. Seems to me back in 2012 when I was researching this, a lot of people were recommending using a pilot bushing instead of a pilot bearing on a C5 Corvette. Now it seems the reverse is true.
In any event, the burn marks in the clutch seem to indicate the Centerforce wasn't holding up as well as I thought. And I'm not really sure what brand and model I want to use right now. So I guess it is back to square one trying to figure out whose recommendation to go with. Problem is you can find good and bad reviews for every one out there it seems. Which is telling me that quality control from each of the manufacturers could use some improvement.
I sure as heck don't want to make another mistake here.