Another thing to check on the noise - I had this problem and some others (JoeBlack) - there are two bolts the come up through the cross member into the back of the tranny - both of mine climbed out and were lost. It allows the tranny to shimmy from side to side. If they're gone, the small heat shield will be gone also (not that it's necessary but it's fairly inexpensive). It's hard to get the new bolts in without removing the cross member, so you'll need to support the tranny while you're under there, but otherwise it's not too bad a job.

-- John