Is my engine a goner?

Ok, a few months ago Firestone did an oil change on my 2001 Corolla LE AT but never actually put in any oil. That's taken care of now, I went to a local Toyota Dealership and had my 60k tuneup and oil change done by their techs. However, my oil light just started coming on during hard cornering or deceleration and it's only been 2k miles since the tune up... ?? I checked my oil, it's full, there's no leaks anywhere (plus they checked my car for leaks during the tune up). So that's the first problem. Now I've got a bunch of symtoms in my engine that are confusing me...

1. During hard acceleration, my engine will start 'surging' (think like a sound wave chart) at higher rpm's, after about 4500 which really isn't that high.
2. My engine sort of knocks during any gear, more so if i'm at a stop AND in a gear, i've never head engine knock before, so not sure if this is that feared situation.
3. My engine will actually rattle at the top of each gear, just before it shifts AND during half throttle.
4. The rpms will 'stick' when downshifting to decelerate... sometimes it will even sound like a small diesel O_o WTF??

I'm going to take it into the dealership again but just wanted to get an idea of what to expect before going in. I suspect that I have a valve that's sticking but then I have no experience with Toyota engines.

Any and all help/suggestions are welcome.

My engine is only at 64,000 miles and my car is a 2001. Not sure how this could be happening so early on the 'bulletproof Toyota - the Corolla'

Thanks,
ROKnight

How much driving did you do without oil? The light coming on means that there is no or low oil pressure. Knocking can be caused by lack of oil being circulated or worn bearings. Unfortunately it is only going to get worse.

well, that's what confuses me... there was just under 5 quarts in my engine when i checked it just now... so I'm 'NOT' driving without oil. But it really does sound like I'm driving dry... I'm not burning oil or leaking it either...

I'm stumped...

ROKnight

"Ok, a few months ago Firestone did an oil change on my 2001 Corolla LE AT but never actually put in any oil. "

Sounds like you ran it at least some distance without oil. If you do this, all your engine components that would normally be lubricated are rubbing dry. Metal on metal. Once this happens, it could get worse even if you put oil in it.