So an update, finally tore the car apart after finishing the garage build (which turned out spectacular).
What I found was unpleasant. The timing system looks great, all the chains, guides, tensioners, gear and phasers were fine from a physical appearance. I went as far as pulling out the oil pump and that's where this gets puzzling.
The oil pump with 400 miles on it has scoring on the front and back faces of the gears and housing, and the "teeth/lobes" of the gears are scuffed/scored. ArizonaBoss and another friend suggested opening up the oil filter and magnet-tracing the pan, but nothing of interest was found (some typical very light hint of coppery/brassy particulate in the filter media only under very bright light). The plug did have some darker metallic goo on it, but not an unusual amount for the first 400 miles.
So, what the hell happened? I know that pump looked fine going in, was well oiled before first start up, and the motor was allowed to rotate over before actually firing up. Also, if it scored itself, where's the resultant material? I don't see how it could get past the filter, but not sure. Possibly it just scored/dented itself? Also, based on this description and following pictures, everyone feel pretty confident that its the source of my mystery noise when warm? (My personal thought is that it was the noise I was hearing, along with a mild loss of oil pressure allowing the chains to slack slightly). Also, possibly an issue with factory oil pickup tube depth against the moroso pan? I measured it previously to .25" with clay, but wasn't the most scientific measurement ever taken.
I don't think I found enough material to warrant pulling the motor and the pan to check the bottom side bearings, and cam bearings under the bridges look fine and fresh (plugs also look normal). My plan for now is to put a factory oil pump back in and run it like that, I have not heard back from MMR yet, but just emailed them yesterday. Hopefully this is just a mild roadbump and I can get back to it, I'm just worried of a larger issue looming over the horizon (as usual).
Pictures to follow: