Oh— thanks for bearing with me. What I meant by that was I'm convinced to pull the pan and clean it and the pickup. And that I would go ahead and order an oil pump also, since I would be down there anyway. Sorry, I thought that was clear, but I should have been more specific in my writing. I guess I should just leave the oil pump alone? I had no idea the new oil pumps were problematic.
About my seeming boneheadedness:
Look, I don't mind pulling an oil pan, but I was reading on SlantsSix.org that Dan describes a "soup" he made, and recommends running it through a 2+ times. I did a less aggressive "soup" and ran it through only once, with limited results. Basically, I didn't do what Dan described and I still wanted to try this route. Since I didn't do the full battery of "soup treatments" (see this
thread) I figured I'd actually do it exactly how Dan recommended to do it before I gave up on his idea.
But I guess something about my particular situation leads us to believe the soup would be ineffective, a waste of time, and potentially hazardous.
I'm not trying to be difficult, and I really appreciate all the help, I just have 2 conflicting sets of advice (this thread and older threads on SlantSix.org) and I'm trying to figure out the best route. Right now it sounds like I shouldn't do the soup and should just pull the pan. And leave the oil pump be.
Thanks again, and I am so sorry I ever even tried the stupid "soup"!! Now to find the time to pull the pan! Very hard when you have a 1 year old kid and a wife who works Saturdays, haha.