thanks for the replies everyone.
Yes, the tires are wearing improperly at the center of the car. The current suspension doesn't appear to have been changed for a LONG time.
I can't tell if the steering knuckles are messed up or not as they are still in the car - at least they aren't noticably bent.
I haven't checked the play on the lower control arm ball joints but i'm sure they should be replaced at some point.
I did order a new energy suspension bushing kit last night and i'll look into the ball joints today.
One issue with the car is the front cross member is tweaked somewhat (bent up in a few places). not sure if this was from a collision or a bottle jack used to hoist up the car with a v8. I have a used straight crossmember which will be it's replacement.
I think what I'm going to do is drop the entire front end and disassemble it. i'll then rebuild it with the urethane parts on the new cross member.
Again, my concern is spending a ton of time on the front end to find that it's bent at the frame rails. If the frame rails look straight could they still be bent somehow from a collision?