Had my father in law over yesterday (Been a mechanic for over 40+ years, and builds modified and midget race cars), and let him listen to the noise. We found out its actually coming from underneath, and he thinks its either the water pump, or bearings somewhere in the drive assembly.
I am going to get it up to operating temp this weekend, then take the drive belt off, and fire her up (only momentarily, lol). If the noise goes away, then at least I know where to start looking. Oddly, when I am in drive, and I stop at a light or something, I hear a gurgling sound coming from under the hood, which makes me wonder if its a coincidence with potentially the water pump going out.
I'll keep the post up to date as I find stuff out.
If anyone else has any input, it's appreciated.