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A rough idle or random, nonspecific skip can be caused by a vacuum leak. Have you gone through all the diagnostics with carb cleaner and a hose-in-the-ear stethoscope to search out and fix leaks? (A loose intake manifold's not unheard of...)
"...revved the engine to the point where I wasnt able to visually see the light strobe..."
Keep in mind that the timing light only works up to a certain RPM and then it, too, becomes ragged, dim, intermittent. This is because as the RPM increases its internal power supply doesn't have time to recharge the HV capacitor between flashes. So it sags.
"...there was no noticeable wear or tear on it..."
The pulley could be OK, but it could also have lost adhesion between the rubber and steel. It will slip but still look OK.
One trick is to paint over the timing index mark on the pulley with "white-out" and again use the timing light. You can connect to any plug wire -- and, in fact, might try cylinder 2 or even the coil wire. Watch for the white mark to wander as you rev the engine.
"...some slight clatter coming from the head..."
The injectors produce a surprising level of clatter. Also, the valves might need adjustment.
"...remove the oil filler cap when the engine is operating and it spits out quite a bit of oil..."
A spinning cam will do that. One sure sign of insufficient oil to the head is a seized cam.
--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)
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