This morning while making a slow speen U-Turn to get a parking space, a groaning noise came from the front end and there seemed to be some tension in the steering wheel, like it wasn't getting the full range of motion on the turn. Any ideas? Cost?

The steering stops need frequent lubrication (you just slap some
grease on the nylon pad). You might start with this before looking
into major repairs:

http://volvospeed.com/steerstops.htm

If the sound was at full-lock of the steering wheel and mostly
went away if you slightly backed off then the stops could be the
problem. Takes 5 minutes to grease them (you don't have to remove the
wheels, the instructions at the above site have them off to make it
easier to see what to do).

It sounds like a bad CV joint in your front axle. Take a look and see if either of your boots is torn which leads to contamination of the grease. Most of my experience is with Jeeps, but usually if it's torn and you can feel anything, then the joint has to be replaced (not just cleaned and repacked). I'm not sure on the price, but actually need to replace one of mine now too.

Charlie