if your rotor was able to make contact with the back side of the carrier (caliper) like that, then your spindle or bearings are shot.. the rotor is at its largest when new, so wear should have just increased clearance to that spot.
That's what I thought too, but the bearing would need to move alot to have the rotor make contact. The bearing wouldn't budge at all on either side when tested.

since the bearings are "ok" how did the new brakes line up?
Haven't installed new brakes and rotors yet. I ground the rust off the rotor that was touching the caliper - there's clearance now.

a 1/4 inch of movement at the tire is a lot, so the inner tie rod is definitely not helping, tie rod can "lock" into place when the wheel is under load, (acceleration) however, it is more free to wobble, and shake the rest of the time. over small bumps, etc that you would normally not feel.
Agree - I'll try to post a video showing the wobble

if the whole car is shaking, i would suggest also checking the rear axle bushings just to be safe.
Sounds like a plan - how do you test these?

After a 60+ mile test today, the low speed wobble is gone but there is still abit of a high speed vibration - again after snugging up the ball joint and rotating the tires front to back.