Man, I felt this one in my bones. My dishwasher did the same thing to me last year, made a grinding noise only when it hit the drain cycle, and I replaced the pump, then the motor, then the float switch, all because I never once thought to check the little plastic guard that had cracked and was rubbing the spray arm. Two months, probably $120 in parts, and the actual fix was a $6 piece of plastic I found by accident while I was cleaning up. The worst part is my wife was right the whole time when she said to just call someone, but by week three it stopped being about the machine and started being about proving I could beat it. What finally saved me was timing myself, I gave each step a 20 minute cap, and if I could not find the source by then I had to stop and think instead of ordering more parts. Also helps to run the thing half apart like you did, because a warm part will tell you way more than a cold one ever will.

Man, this hits close to home. I did the same thing for years, just dumping salt in like I was making a brine, and nobody ever told me different. The whole "salty water is for the sauce" thing makes sense once you think about it, because the pasta only soaks up so much and the rest just goes down the drain. But here's my problem with cutting it way back: bland pasta is sad pasta, and if your sauce is light you end up with a dish that tastes like nothing. That chef in Portland might be right in theory, but it really depends on what you're cooking and how salty your sauce already is. So yeah, I feel your pain, this is one of those things where half the kitchen swears by one way and the other half looks at you like you're crazy.