like you said its a low end sound.. valves is a ticking, it sounds alot diffrent than a knock.. sorry to tell you but i think you have bigger problems than that. it could be many things.. good luck with the bill..

as for the whining.. from what you have discribed its your tranny... My old celica does that right now... you probably need a rebuild.. the celica has been doing it for years and hasnt really got much worse so i have just left it..
what i would try is checking the fluid level, if its auto its really easy.. manual trannys are alittle tougher to do.. cause you gotta fill it from under the tranny etc... just check your manual..

One of the trucks at my work had that problem, and after a few months the tranny blew and it seized up and he almost had a really bad accident because all his rear end locked up..