Mystery Metallic Noise

Hi All,
I am looking for some help or advice as towards the cause of this noise my Tacoma is experiencing.

For some background info. I have a 1998 Tacoma 2wd reg cab with the 2.4l and the column shift auto trans. It has about 164,000 miles at the moment.

I’ve noticed that when driving up hill on the freeway, or sometimes under generally high load, I’ll hear a noise that sounds like two pieces of metal sliding against each other that goes away when I let off the throttle. With time it has become a bit easier to cause. I’m having trouble finding posts of other people who’ve had this issue to draw from.
I know I don’t have a video of the sound atm, but the closest comparison I can think of is disc brakes on a bicycle when the pads are fresh.

if anyone has any ideas I’d really appreciate it. I’d like to avoid parts cannoning things if possible.

 

So under load

1st thing that comes to mind is carrier bearing
Total guess w/out hearing sound and knowing general area where coming from