The OP last activity has been about 4 yrs.
Is it wrong to reserect an old thread from the dead and pump some life into it.
I see this often, "Thats an old thread"

like it is wrong to bring it up?
I was having the high reading on the stick in our old engine back in 07. suddenly one morning it would be up like 4 inches with the morning reading. wipe off the stick and it would read normal.
finally the problem was eliminated when the timing chain took out the whole engine.

. problem was solved with the new engine.
Charlie