So what are you waiting for? I'm dying to know if you get a knock when you pull plug 1 or 6..

 

more then 1 day to be home.
been traveling like crazy!

 

I have not pulled the plug wires yet... But i finally got the yard stick out. I rested it against everything on the top side and could not hear the knocking through the stick... I rested on the valve covers, sounded like a purring kitten. everything I touched it on sounded nice and quite. Even though I could hear a noise which seems to to be coming from right smack in the middle. I could not hear it through the yard stick...
I did not crawl under and rest the stick on anything on the bottom of the engine, perhaps that would help me isolate.
I'm still leaning towards bearings.