I agree it needs to come out and blown apart, unfortunately. I'm just not sure he's gonna want to invest that in it right at the moment and I would like to find out what's happening and why in the meantime. I will look at the oil pump and take a peek at some bearings, number 3 main is a good idea. This is the first oil drain since new engine (unless the place that put it together did once, but I doubt it). I did not pull the cam and lifters, so I can't say with absolute certainty there's no issue there, just a preliminary close inspection shows all the lobes look great as do the rollers. The cam thrust setup and intermediate gear is very good information, I will look at that too. I've done a lot of low buck messing around with 440's, but a roller cam Hemi is a bit out of my wheelhouse. Thanks a ton for the thoughts everyone!