At first I thought it was lifter tick, so I let it idle and drove it around a bit. There was also a significant amount of sludge in the engine (may or may not have mentioned that above, I forget). I did my first oil change at 50 miles today and the oil came out just about black, but a quick peek in the oil fill tube with a flashlight revealed almost shiny cylinder head and valve springs. I know that oil is circulating though the engine, which leads me to believe it's not lifter noise. It may be a water pump, I'll replace that when I have money, since this one isn't doing so well.

I keep coming across new issues as well, now today I discovered that the cooling fans aren't kicking on. I haven't looked into that issue much, but I'll probe around with my DVOM and see what I come up with -perhaps a bad breaker/relay.

I suppose that just about does it for this thread, Bill you've been an excellent help. Thanks again.