Pelican Parts Forums - Noise after 5th gear replacement

I asked this question in the technical forum and got no response. I'm hoping to have more luck here. First some history: I've had a 5th gear whine for the 2 years I've owned my 84 cab. I recently replaced the gear set and needle bearing cage. After reinstalling the motor I noticed a rubbing metal to metal sound. Poking around on this forum I realized I did not adjust the reverse gear to idler gap properly. I dropped the motor again and made the adjustment. I've resolved the gear whine and rubbing sound, but I now have a consistant tap that varies in volume in all gears. It seems to get louder when the tranny is warm. Crawling under the car, I confirmed the sound is located in the tranny front end. I again opened the tranny, but I see nothing out of the ordinary. I've removed the 5th and idler gears and see nothing unusual. The bearings look in good shape and I shape no signs of rubbing. My thought was the idler shaft may be bouncing around since it has some freedom to move on the shaft. Otherwise, I have no idea. Any thoughts or suggestions?