First and foremost, thank you John_AZ for the link.
It was the starter. I found that the starter case was loose, not terribly loose, but enough which raised a red flag for me. I removed it, and following directions from the aforementioned link, I rebuilt it my self. The hardest part was getting the armature back in place. In all it's a, well it's 5pm my time and I started at 1pm and drank beer all day, so I guess it was a zero on a 10 scale.
No new parts were bought.
Brake/carb cleaner, some 400 grit sand paper, I used my dremel on the brushes, some silicon sealant, a few tools, 1 helper to hold back the brushes and insert the armature, assemble and it was done.
I've never heard this car crank over faster, and that is over the course of 17 1/2 years. No doubt it's the original starter, unless it gave out in the first 8 years of the car's life, which is unlikely.
I'll do a write up later if there is a need. It's pretty straight forward, and well worth it.
Thanks again John_AZ.
