Hi, Ecor. Your description of the 'ticking' noise is just too vague for me to be helpful. dYou might tell us under what conditions you hear, i.e. during the first start of the morning, during accelleration, braking, etc.
I doubt your timing chain would make any noises at all, because the moment something went wrong with it, it would instantly shred and you'd have some major valve damage. It's travelling at thousands of rounds per minute, remember.
I haven't played with the gear lever, but you might try to crawl under the car and look for a simple loose bolt or missing nut on the shift mount, or remove the center console on the inside to see if you can find something there. Next time I crawl under my car, I'll take a look and try to get some better information...although you could always consult a Bentley Manual, if you have a$44.95
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books
, or click here for a Haynes Manual if you only have $6.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...398771-4977637
If that's all that's wrong with your car, I wouldn't worry too much!
Flunky