Did I wipe a cam lobe?

[Jon01]

I've been chasing a rather loud ticking that developed last Friday for the past few days.
Well, today I drove the car around the block a few times to make sure that the oil pressure still rose with rpm while in gear, which it does.
I was pulling away from a stop sign under very light throttle when it backfired through the intake and died.
Started back up, and now it's missing very noticeably.
Under any throttle, most of the time it will backfire out the intake, and die.
It will also backfire while sitting in neutral idling and die.
When I crank the starter, it turns over normal, then cranks very hard for a second, then normal again.
I'm still getting the ticking sound, and now it's missing to beat the band.
Sound like a wiped cam lobe?
Oil pressure is still fine, and I'm not getting any malfunction codes on the Scanmaster(not that I would).
I'm going to pull the valve covers tomorrow night and check to see if the rockers are moving about the same amount, or if any are noticeably loose.
Anyways, I'm lost, anyone got any input? It's definitely very appreciated!
Thanks guys!
Jon

 

[MARINES185]

pop the valve covers and watch it run. you should see if a
valve is not operating or barely opening. if its backfiring
through the intake it would have to be an exhaust lobe
thats the problem. this would cause a big restriction and
have a tendency to blow back when the intake valve is
open. although you said it happened all the sudden it may
not be a cam problem as they usually take a little while.
lobes don't just suddenly wear off.

 

[Jon01]

Yeah, that's kind of what I figured, but I don't know what else could cause it to act like it is, and I figured I'd ask.
Anyone else got an opinion?
Thanks!
Jon

 

[Nick Micale]

Since you will have the valve covers off, check for a bent pushrod or broken rocker shaft.

More likely cause if it happened suddenly.