Welcome to the gang, there, pcguru2000 ..........
As far as the noise behind the dash, I suggest you have your wife drive and you be the gunner, armed with a spray can of silicone with a long barrel, a microfiber rag and a small plastic probe ........ and go squeak hunting.
Back-in-the-day, I used to squeak hunt with several narrow shingle wedges. I would isolate the squeak and shove a wedge in its mouth to shut it up, then simply snap or twist off the unused part of the shingle wedge.
humfrz