[Mike_The_Grad]

Well, I figured out whatsup with my truck....... good news and bad news....

Good news is: It's not my transmission that's causing what I'm experiencing.

Bad news is: It's my starter!

The bendix is sticking or what ever is responsible for disengaging the pinion from the flexplate. It will fully retract sometimes. But sometimes it won't and it will just sorta free float on the pinion shaft. So the rotating intermittant sound that seemed relative to engine RPM and also vehicle movement was in fact the bendix sliding back and forth on the pinion shaft and hitting the flexplate while it was running. My flexplate has some chewed up teeth on it. I really cant afford to replace the flexplate right now, financially or timewise. But I can replace the starter no problem because it has a life time warranty. 🙂
YES. I am running a starter brace, yes I do have knurled bolts that are the correct size and application for the setup I have. NO, I'm not sure this is the correct starter for my setup. But YES i do have the factory service manual to reference the correct starter motor that originally came in my truck. YES, i have tried a permanent magnet gear reduction starter, it worked awesome. But being that my flexplate is chewed up somewhat I didnt want to risk chewing up the bendix. So i sold it to my buddy who is doing a fresh build on his 71 SWB. He has a new flexplate and now a new mini starter and it works great on his truck. I will own another one and say goodbye to the old heavy ass starters of the past, but not until I'm able to afford a new flexplate. And bythat time I will actually be ready for a trans rebuild and maybe even an engine rebuild. Stroker motor FTW!!! 🙂

Thank you to all that have chimed in and even gave my issue the time of day to read my lengthy posts. I appreciate it. It's the reason why I decided to become a member and continue to utilize this great resource for our trucks.