Fast forward to today....

So, we get the car up in the air and in about 1/10 the time I could, he has the oil pan off the car. I can't even tell you what it felt like to stand there and look at an oil pump bolt *backed out almost 1/2 inch and hand tight*. Luckily it was one of the ones on the back side of the pump. It most likely would have just fallen harmlessly into the pan. But there's one on the front of the pump that falls into the chain drive for the pump when it backs out. Nasty sounds and $$$ are the result, and this one was loose on my car.

So, the next time you have your car in for service (if you've got over 50k on your car - I have 95k), it might be prudent of you to ask them to retorque the oil pump bolts.
For the DIY crowd, this looked to be an easy thing to do.
The hardest part would be loosening the ~20 bolts that hold the pan on, and scraping off the old gasket. Once the pan is off, the oil pump is the big device you can't miss right dead center in the motor. Take off the black front cover to reveal the hidden "nasty" bolt that wrecks the chain when it loosens. Tighten every bolt you can find on all sides of the pump.

Good Luck 7'ers. Don't put this one off. My (almost motor) loss is your gain !

CD