Thanks for your support guys! Ok, Bubba (yes that was the name on the flatbed driver's shirt believe it or not) rolled into Indy right before 6 pm and the tech there briefly checked it out. I didn't talk to him directly, but word is the tech feels it's a collapsed lifter or some sort of lifter issue, not IMS. This makes sense I guess as an IMS failure would probably lock up the engine or just not run at all. This will still necessitate engine removal and lots of labor. As far as the 7 yr warranty is concerned, I got that through the dealership. It covers the expensive stuff ie: powertrain so either way I should be ok. I'm glad I got it because the car was bought 4 yrs 3 weeks ago....right outside the standard warranty!!
Well, I wasn't hoping for a catastrophic failure, but the silver lining in the back of my head was a 3.6L engine transplant....that may not be neccesary yet
I'll keep you guys posted as I get more info.