[woodsman]

many, many lwfw's have been sold and used by Porsche owners without problems. the owner of Aasco has been interviewed by Excellence mag. and has been in the Porsche business for something like 40 yrs. You can call him and actually talk to the man himself (like I did), unlike most 'vendors', today. He IS the mfg.
I can't see why you'd need the tranny in , to run engine as long as you have the fw and crank sensor in????? Also ,I wonder if there's an easy way to open up the trans.? How about physically rolling it over, carefully, on the lawn (after draining oil) and listening close for something loose ? Stand it up on the bellhousing etc. But then you said the problem got worse and fast so it could be a disintegrating bearing- I too, feel your pain Homeboy- hope it's a simple fix for ya'