Thanks for the reply. I've been talking to Vince and this one has him stumped too. Yes, it is the PCM Pro-Tec electronic ignition and fuel injection. Not sure at this point whether i want to put more money into this boat due to the "lifter tick". If that noise is coming from a wrist pin or something inside one cylinder, we are looking at a long block. If i was sure the Pro-Tec was totally bad, I would do it in a second.