Yep, that part of the mystery was solved. It really sounded more like a bad rocker, pushrod or lifter. It also explains the oil consumption (a qt. every 200 miles) and the blow by.
It really was amazing that it ran as well as it did. That sucker really did get up and go when merging into traffic. One more month or so of driving it like that and I would have ruined the block and crank though.... :read2:
