HELP WITH FRONT END NOISE IN 98 TRANSPORT

I have an annoying noise in the front of my van that seems to be getting worse as time goes on. About 2000 miles ago (2 months ago) I had a new wheel bearing assembly on the drivers side, brakes and rotors installed on the front. When I went to pick up the van at the repair shop I noticed a NEW and very loud groan/dull snapping sound coming from the front when I turned the wheel. I brought the vehicle back to the repair shop and after 2 weeks of changing ball joints and axles, they finally decided I had a bad strut and mount on the driver side. They replaced both struts and mounts (I made them put my original axle back in) and I ended up with $1200 bill for all the work. Well the groaning has returned when I turn the wheel in each direction when I first start out going forward or reverse, the sound is not evident at highway speeds. The snapping "feel" is not evident. We just returned from a 500 mile trip and since we do not put many miles on at one time I figured this was enough to aggravate the problem. Any ideas before I go back to the shop? Thank you!