Just to arm you for any future “act ups”, check out this Video from James Danner (Paul “Scanner” Danner’s Brother) covering the P0014 and P0017 Codes as he performed his Diagnostics and took the same action you did with investigating and replacing the CPAS (Camshaft Position Actuator Solenoid)
and discovered Missing S/S Screens that turned sideways and got partially ingested into the CPAS Oil Feed ports:
The “Mysterious Oil Loss” in the GM 4.2L LL8 Engine can sometimes be found inside of the Resonator Chamber after removing it from the Throttle Body and emptying it out. That Chamber uses a Small Rubber Elbow that allows the escaping (PCV)-like Positive Pressure Port situated in the very top of the Valve Cover and favors the Warm Motor Oil Vapor getting pulled into the Chamber and thence ingested through the Throttle Body and Intake Manifold to be burned inside of the Combustion Chambers.
Excess Power AND Exhaust Stroke Gas Blow-By can force the Oil up and out very quickly and this would reduce the amount of Motor Oil that would ordinarily drain back down from the Engine Head back into the Crankcase-Oil-Pan. You don’t mention what your present mileage is… but High Miles on LL8s seem to suffer this issue more at this late period in the history of the GMT360s.
GM prefers a Treament that uses the ACDelco Top Engine Cleaner
(Think BG-44 Treatment here) by hanging a Pressurized Cylinder filled with this stuff an Very High Octane Fuel getting burned inside of the Motor, exchanging that process for the normal actions of the Fuel Pump and the Gas in the Fuel Tank. These actions are meant to rid the Upper Combustion Chambers, Valve Seats along with the (2) Top Piston Compression Rings of the
"Black Carbon Mung" and Gas Lacquer that glues those Low-Tension Rings deep inside of the Piston's Lands & Grooves inviting Excessive Gas Blow-By.
The reason you might not have seen too much Smoke exiting the Tail Pipe is because that excess oil vapor to A/F mix gets burned inside of the Catalytic Converter. Whenever the Intake Manifold is removed… the Intake Ports of the Aluminum Engine Head will invariably display a thick coating of Oily Black Carbon after the inner runners get coated with the inhaled Motor Oil over time.
Performing an immediate Motor Oil and Oil Change using a “Cheap” Oil Filter and “Cheap” Organic 5W-30 Motor Oil in a ratio of (6) Quarts with (1) Quart of ATF High Detergent Fluid will help to flush out the debris in the Oil Galleries that will rapidly re-infest the New CPAS Screens if not done at the same time as the CPAS R&R.
Then... Run the Engine at Idle for 10-15 Minutes (No Revving) and then perform an immediate second Drain Out of the “Cheap” Oil and “Cheap” Filter followed by using (7) Quarts of Mobil1 FULL Synthetic 5W-30 Motor Oil and either a Mobil1 or a K&N Oil Filter in exchange. In some cases… these actions will allow better oil flow through the Valve Train and quiet down that Ticking Noise.
There are some YouTube Videos showing the installation of an Oil Gallery Adapter near the Front, Passenger side of the Engine Block to introduce a TRUE, Analog Oil Pressure Gauge and measure the ACTUAL Oil Pressure that your Motor is capable of producing at Idle and under light elevations of RPM. There is really no other way of determining the performance of the Gerotor Oil Pump and the condition of the Oil Pick Up Tube and its Sealing Grommet in between them.
The GM 4.2L LL8 Gerotor Oil Pump is normally capable of pumping over 11 + Gallons of Motor Oil through the Oil Galleries Per Minute at the Higher Oil Pressure of 65 PSI...with the lowest acceptable level being 12 PSI at around 1,200 RPM. Expect to see higher Oil Pressures register on the REAL Gauge when the Motor is Cold and it will drop quite a bit as the Engine Heats up.
I know this is a lot to digest on this matter, but this information is factual and well considered from the prior experiences of many Members here at GMTN. I'm very sorry about this... I wish it were otherwise.