Ok, I did get one good piece of news! I had a top end (or so I thought) rattle that sounded like a bad timing belt tensioner or something bouncing around under the valve cover. Found out it was a timing belt cover spacer, the metal tube about an inch long and fallen into the crevice at the top of the alternator. Revving it up caused the fan to blow it around and make the noise. Plucked it out and voila, no more rattling!