Yeah, crank and cam graphs just tell me that they agree about the engine speed when something happened.

The -26% on the STFT tells me it was compensating for running too rich, trying to lean it out. That would happen if the purge valve is sitting there open with a bunch of vacuum available.

Are you familiar with a VVT sensor? Could this cause the issues I am having?

My thought on the scanner is it is showing problems that the root problem is causing. It looks like other things are not working when in reality they are not working correctly because something else is causing them to not work properly.

Looking at post, someone had mentioned they replaced the VVT sensor after spending a lot of time and money replacing other parts.

I am not familiar with this part and it doesn't seem to be mentioned much.

Just thinking this could be why there is a knocking type sound sometimes.

What are your thoughts?

I haven't had a chance to check into the evap system yet but it is reading ok with the scanner.

I'd check the purge valve ten times and the evap fresh-air valve five times before looking at the VVT system for this combination of symptoms. Besides, I've heard nothing about VVT codes stored in the PCM. If the VVT wasn't acting right, especially this badly, the PCM would post codes.

If the purge valve is sitting there open and the fuel tank is low, vacuum from the engine will suck fuel vapor from the top of the fuel tank. No big deal, trim lean a little and it'* good.

If the purge valve is sitting there open and the fuel tank is full, when fuel sloshes in the tank against the evap vent port, vacuum from the engine will suck fuel (and vapor occasionally) from the top of the fuel tank and attempt to flood the engine. It will also saturate the evap cannister along the way, and ruin the cannister if this happens a lot.

If the knocking sound is a valvetrain issue, none of this would have an effect. If the knocking sound is a detonation issue, some of this might help or it might be a normal sound depending on severity.

'We had to blow lines out multiple times because of the carbon pieces.'
Did you replace the flooded canister?

We replaced the canister twice trying to fix the evap system.

The purge valve is plugged in. Checked that today.

When it is supposed to be closed, does it block all flow?