Thanks all - I (unfortunately) have the shims (0.015, 0.010, 0.012 respectively) under the bolts exactly as indicated in Jeremy's photo. When I unclamp, it still drops. At this point I have no idea what the real underlying problem may be, as the shims don't seem to be working 100%. I bolted the rails on last night and tried to muscle the top level by tightening down all other bolts except for the one located on the end of the offending wing. It didn't quite work as I couldn't get holes (fence rail and wing) perfectly aligned and bolt was binding.
The bondo trick sounds like it would work, but a bit too permanent in the event I need to take wing off and adjust table, etc.
I'm understanding the physics and mechanics behind all of this, but at this point I feel like I have some underlying issue I'm simply not knowledgeable enough to think of. When I muscle the table level by pushing up on the outside edge, the gap underneath doesn't change and the shims don't fall out. Which doesn't make sense, so I'm wondering if there isn't some play in the attachment points on the wing itself?
Since it's the left wing in question (right wing is perfect) - I'm thinking about just living with it for now, as I don't anticipate doing much cutting to the left of the blade. I'm not sure if it will cause issues with fence alignment or movement? I'm really at a point where I need someone more knowledgeable than myself to look at it with me in person, which isn't realistic right now.
Again, I've followed ya'lls advice to the letter and I really appreciate the help. Frustrating it wasn't as simple as shimming it, which I thought it would be. I'm definitely using the right thickness of shims in each spot - at least I think so, as I had to meticulously yet forcefully tap them in with a rubber mallet.
Open to further suggestions, willing to take a few videos and upload...but if I can "live with it" without affecting the functionality, I just might do so until I feel like taking the fence and rails off again and re-tackling at a later date.
The fact that I have the 45 degree tilt mechanism back in working order and the blade parallel within 0.0005/0.001 to the miter slot makes me want to just get cutting. Those were the two biggest hurdles from when I bought the saw.