Well stated, and I am starting to go in this direction. If this was a signal problem (the sender) I suspect I would be getting more weirdness in the operation, but it's mostly acting normal (oil light on for 2 sec when I start the motor, off during stationary idle and highway driving). I also suspect that putting more oil in created less of a chance of uncovering the pickup while oil is sloshing, but doesn't eliminate it (thus this very occasional problem). And the explanation that the installer might have pounded the dent in the pan down a bit but was unaware of the bent pickup makes a lot of sense. I'm gonna pull the oil pan, pound out the dent a bit further, inspect the pickup, and if it's fine, bend it until it touches the bottom of the pan.
