Name that noise...

[Chrispbrown36]

Yesterday, with the wonderful weather we are having, I was cruising with the windows down and the noise seemed to have been coming from everywhere!
First, I have a slight tick when accelerating. I don't have a tach but if I had to guess it is probably around 3000 RPM and continues until I let off the gas. I am burning oil but never let it get too low. I have read everything from flexplate to exhaust leaks could be causing it.....where should I start looking? I have plans to pull the exhaust manifold and make sure all is well in that department. Also, I am planning on replacing the intake manifold gasket, valve cover gasket and distributor gasket in an attempt to get a handle on an oil leak.....should I be looking for anything while I have all this apart?
Second, when slowing down I hear a rubbing sound. It typically starts when I am slowing down and continues until just before I come to a complete stop. Brakes are my first thought here, but I had them service back during the last big snow we had a few weeks back and all was well. To be honest, I can't say whether or not it does it all the time because between the slightly loud exhaust and the sound of the mud terrain tires on the pavement plus my less than stellar hearing it could be drowned out the rest of the time.
This one isn't so much a noise as it is just plain annoying. When I start her up she runs a little rough and if I put her in reverse and back up she will idle real low and sometimes die. It doesn't happen much in drive. but everytime in reverse. It also doesn't seem to happen when I have been driving it for a while and park it then start it back up. Any ideas?