Since no one here could help me, I called my dealer about the blower noise. He suggested that I take the blower out and check for debris. The motor is easily accessed from under the glove box and removing three screws. I found that the noise was being made by a leaf getting stuck in the squirrel cage ! I don't know how it got there. I removed the leaf and reinstalled the blower and all is quiet again ! The dealer could have easily had me bring my truck in and charged me for removing the leaf, or worse yet, charged me for a new blower motor.

 

That just goes to show that there are still some honest service depts. out there. I'm glad that you fixed it and for minimal work/hassle.