1. I have never seen or heard of a perch weld failing.
2. When driving forward, the pinion tries to climb UP the ring gear. That's why the shock of the wheel hop caused the housing to rotate up.
3. The housing plug welds are a known weak point. It's recommended to fully weld the tubes to the housing for performance use.
4. You would not hear it. Even with broken plug welds, the tubes are still somewhat press-fit into the housing.
5. As much as the pinion angle is off, it will be pretty easy to see the pinion pointing up way more than the spring perches. Just go take another look or take a pic for the rest of us to see. Confirm with an angle finder, you can get one for less than 10 bucks.