What the H#!! is this noise? Slant six mystery engine sound...

I'm not gonna hold onto his comment or anything...it just got frustrating to keep coming back to this thread and finding endless reminders suggesting the alternator as the culprit. In the case of StrokerScamp's comment, it's just tough to make the call on someone's intended tone via typed words on the internet.

The fact is, 1wild&crazyguy, you were right about the alternator being pretty close to the fender. The belt that came on the car turned out to be about half an inch too long, and although that doesn't seem huge, it certainly does account for the alternator's proximity to the fender--although not close enough for contact between the two.

Lastly, although the video doesn't do it justice--and which I should have probably mentioned earlier, the noise is heard most clearly from the driver's side. These different observations, I guess, are what led me to make the strongest case for the PS pump.