`03 Malibu 3.1 lifter tapping.

Hello, I was hoping someone here can help me. My wife owns a 2003 Malibu. Through the week before this problem arose I realized that when I would start it up in the mornings I would have to rev it slightly to keep it running more than a second, after I rev it though its normal, except that one of the lifters would tap loudly for the first two minutes of warm up but after that the engine ran just like new. Her father borrowed it to visit a friend a week later and on his way there it sounded like the engine ran out of oil. So he had it parked at his friends house and we later went to see it and i found that the oil filter gasket had been blown and the next morning i saw that the engine left a trail of oil from my house to his friends house (about 2 miles away). They finally brought it back and told me that it burns oil. I havn't started it since because I have another ride, but today it was a bit warmer (30 degrees) so I decided to check it out and found that the guy who put more oil in put probably 2 quarts too much oil.
Now that you know the story does anyone have any advice on what I should do next about the lifters? I already know that I'm going to drain some of the oil when the snow clears) I'm just blank on how I should handle the lifter and startup problems. Any help is greatly appriciated. By the way sorry for the "life story".

*Update* I drained the extra oil out and I believe the condition has gotten worse. The lifter tap is louder and no longer stops. but it gets quiet after 2500 or so RPM. it also sounds like its missing, probably from the excess oil. so other than the tapping metal sound eminating from the front (or left) head, it has all the 155 horsepower that it came with, well actually somewhere between 160 and 170 from the K&N filter I installed last year. Please give me some advice.

Hmm tough call.

So. Thankfully its the front head. And granted that you have no real loss of drivability.... Hmm.. Hard call.

I would do a compression test. That will at least tell you that your valves are working correctly. If one has noticably lower compression, Id suspect a bent rod, or stuck lifter. There isnt really much I can say until the valve cover comes off. If metal is banging on metal, it usually means something isnt moving right, or there is a loss of lubrication between the parts. Youd really have to take the valve cover off and have a look.