'95 Passport - ticking engine/no power

I know that this vehicle is a bear to deal with but I am hoping for a
simple solution. The ticking in the engine is coming from the left side
of the engine. Before I spend the money to have someone pull the head
off of the engine, could there be a simpler explination for the
ticking/lack of power than valve problems?

Try running 0w20 synthetic oil you may have to change it every 1000 miles.
It sounds like your rear oil is clogged. Synthetic oil will break it down.
I have seen this in several passports.