I agree, that does sound a lot like a pilot bearing. They are extremely easy to replace... once you have the transmission separated from the engine. If you've never seen one before they are about the size of like....maybe a half dollar coin. When we did they in class a few months ago i think i used a slide hammer but i really didn't have to hit it hard or more than once. Or maybe i just used my finger to pull it out...either way i did something and it took less than 5 seconds to get it out of the engine block.