Well the bandaid seemed to work. Swapped out the oil pump for a high vol unit, checked gage, new filter/oil & shaft as stated above. Primed it and fired it up.

75psi cold
25psi hot idle @ 195 degrees and 700 rpm

I'm sure it's a matter of time before a rebuild, but this seems to have cured it for a bit. Just a waiting game - so I can have some fun for a while.

I'll post again if/when a tap or knock develops

Btw, removing the oil pump shaft for priming/replacement was real fun (NOT). Did it with the manifold on - made a little tool to grab the gear and pull it out the distributor hole.