George - I can tell you from my experience, gripping is more painful to my elbow than lifting or holding. If I grab a moderately heavy object in my (currently) uninjured hand, and transfer it to the palm of my injured side, I can hold it up with no pain. If I grip tightly with my injured side, even making a fist, I get a pretty good zap in the elbow.
The OT guy I've been seeing says to keep my elbow close to my side, and only lift/hold stuff with my palm up.