Woohoo! Finally jumped my timing chain!

I think the concern over dropping the pan is the need to answer the question. "Where did the nylon from the cam gear go?" It did not go away, for sure. It's probably in the pan where it could get sucked up into the screen on the oil pump pickup (assuming the screen is intact). If the nylon has been sucked onto the screen or is wedged in the pickup tube, oil flow is going to be restricted.

The old adage is true. Oil is the life blood of an engine.