I forgot to mention what the oil pan looked like when I changed the gasket.

I have only put about 4k of the 164k miles on the car, and this is the second oil change I have done, but the PO records indicate that the car had the oil changed every 5k like clock work.

I wasn't sure of what to expect, boy was I surprized! The pan on the outside looked like it came off a jeep from WWII with all the grime, but the inside looked like it was brand spanking new! No signs of ANY sludge, not even the remotest sign of a sludge ring.