Thanks for the reply Leukybear...

With the quality and quantity of replies on this forum prior to yours I figured trial & error on my own would be the way to go!

I'm beginning to wonder whether the noise I'm hearing is actually coming from the chain-line. Since a LBS guy said it was chain line I assumed he knew what he was talking about.

The sound/grinding/resistance always happens at the same point in crank rotation, so maybe it is something in the bottom bracket... I just ordered the tools to take it apart and see if there is a problem. We'll see.

Maybe in the mean time I'll get some more incredibly pleasant and super helpful replies like TejanoTrackie's above...