(8) decided to take off the lower intake manifold but grabbed a flashlight to see if i could look down the intake and spot the valves or anything else. ..and yep. Screws! Sitting right on top of a valve. I ended up slapping the motor back together and starting it. Still had the tick but added some Zmax to the oil and in about 11 or 12 miles the tick vanished. Lucky me! Also, after removing the screws, the "rattle" that some of us hear about 2000 to 3000rpm vanished too! wasnt the cat after all!