Thanks again for the info, and the picture. It was very helpful.
I'm going in a different direction with this now, and I'm hoping someone out there may have had a similar problem.
I've followed all of SHOwn's suggestions, and I'm not finding oil in any of those places, including the pcv hose. This morning I noticed that the tailpipe is very black, there's carbon on the ground below it, and it smells like raw gas. . .
I've never seen this before in 40 years of wrenching, but I think my supposed 'oil' smoke may be unburned fuel vapor, which would explain lots of things. . . .
Problem is VERY intermittent. . . .characteristic of an electrical, rather than a mechanical issue.
Problem went away for at least a week at a time when it was dry. . .now we are in a rain sometime every day, very humid cycle. . . .which is when the problem cropped up again to stay, whereas the past couple of times it cropped up, it spontaneously (and completely) went away after sitting overnight.
So now I'm asking myself. . . .assuming my new hypothesis is correct. . . .what could be causing this. . .?
Bad ECM?
Fuel Pressure Regulator?
Injectors?
Anything else I'm not thinking of?
Any help will be appreciated.