So, a brief update to the rattle I now hear. I bled master and slave cylinders, removed slave cylinder for inspection, tore clutch down, stopping at the point of tearing down the basket. I did not measure every part, bike only has 19K miles mostly country riding, and there's little wear on anything, and no broken parts. With all the clutch parts out, I can run the engine and there is no rattle. With everything installed - by the book, slowly and carefully - there's one heck of an intermittent rattle, that appears more on decel, but is still occasionally present, even at idle. It almost sounds like a bearing, maybe on the output shaft near the front bevel drive. Because sound travels so well through bolted-together metal pieces, it's very difficult to find, and I can't use my stethescope on a spinning clutch.
I'm at the limits of my mechanical ability to diagnose this. So - onto the trailer and down to the local dealer, where I'm told there's a person that does a lot of Connie work. I saw a case of a dry bearing elsewhere in this forum, and I pulled the rubber cap off the front drive, all looks fine and can't hear noise there when running.
I have a voice memo of what it sounds like, that I'll post later. I'll update this when I receive a diagnosis. Holding my breath...and wallet...