sounds like a valve or lifter if it's a consistent tick/vibration. from the sequence of events, it sounds like it may have been a rod bearing binding, then finally getting chewed out, allowing it to now spin better. after the compression test, i would put a manual pressure guage on and make sure it pressures up and does not have big pressure bounce. as for the vafm, i'll attach a pic of what it looks like under the cover. it is a simple free-air point/contact switch opened by that little arm. you might have bent it to touch something on the board. any degree that the arm is not touching should have no effect on the switch. might be worth taking a peak at. those 2 tangs hold the fuel pump relay on. you can bypass it in the diag connector.