I took off the cover and unbolted the torque converter from the engine, and pushed it back. Started the engine and the whine is still there, just as loud.

Did some probing with the tranny disconnected and now the sound seems loudest at the timing gear cover. So for now I'm going to chalk it up to loud timing gears and just driver it till I either get used to it or it starts getting worse.

I'm just a little too OCD for strange engine noises.