"The statement that says "road tested heard noise from converter" is a little bothersome. "
When I read that my first thought was catalytic converter. Having experienced a back fire in one of my GM trucks ,it blew the converter ceramic inside loose. Since this engine ate a few pistons maybe it has the same issue. Presently experiencing a catalytic converter failure in my 08 Wrangler, it's ok until it gets hot then it rattles. Not sure what kind of noise a torque converter would make. Since it was an engine failure my thoughts are the cat. Look at it.