There were not metal flakes in the oil, no glitter or anything. I cut the filter apart and found nothing in the filter. The by-pass I was talking about is the one that is stock on the filter adapter. That has been removed in favor of a billet adapter for full-time filtration.

The relief valve in the pump is what I am kinda thinking MAY be a problem.

It started after I go the motor nice an warm from beating on it. It has not been driven in warmer temperatures since it was installed for more then 15 minutes as I work 3 miles from home. It got broken in while it was in the 50's outside so it got up to 185 and stayed there the whole time.

Suggestion on a good quality pump to have on stand-by... if I am gonna drop the pan I may as well swap in a different pump to further put my mind to ease.
Clay