It doesn't really take that much time: 4 philips screws, 1 grub screw, and a couple pieces of fuel tube. If the whole test took you an hour from start to finish (including checking clutch bell gear mesh), I'd be amazed. It will take much longer to fix than to find, and you DO want it fixed, right?

The only other thing that might help you to find it is to put a little nitro in a spray bottle, get the engine running, and squirt some fuel towards the three major players: front bearing, carb base, & backplate. Don't hose the engine down and try to keep the spray away from the exhaust, obviously, and do it at your own risk.

I think the "passes above the redcat with a truck" was suggesting that the Redcat is piece of garbage, and she's jumping over it with her working RC. Whatever - she probably drives a Traxxas and it'll be broken in a minute.