I am a very high cadence rider, usually around 95 - 100 rpm when climbing and 110-115 on the flats. For me the pain was seemingly worse the faster I pedaled so I just slowed my cadence. I would almost describe my pain as the motion of the knee, not the amount of pressure on it. The faster my cadence, the more times my knee hit the painful part of the cycle per minute. I should also note there was less pain when I was out of saddle and mashing up a hill at 60 rpms.
The pain is down to a 3 right now compaired to yesterday's 7-8 and I have been stretching morning and evening. In a few days I think they will be back to normal and then I'm gonna have my bike re-fitted by a professional.