Ford Kuga (Escape) 1.5 EcoBoost.

The car runs and drives, but there's this weird "ticking/rattling" noise coming from the engine

It went to the machine shop for a full rebuild. Pistons, rings, and cylinder sleeves/liners were all replaced. Injectors, ignition coils, valves, and valve guides are all brand new. Main bearings, rod bearings, and pretty much everything else in the bottom end are new as well. We also replaced the intake and exhaust cam phasers (VVT gears).

In our own shop, we were originally just going to do a full engine swap, but our machinist insisted, "I got this, I can rebuild it." So we gave it a shot, but clearly, it didn't work out as planned. We've even taken it to a few other shops to get a second opinion, but we still can't figure out the root of the problem.

To make matters worse, the money we've spent on this rebuild has already reached the cost of a replacement engine. Swapping the engine now, after sinking all this money into the rebuild, would be a bad financial problem for us.

I'm posting this hoping someone might have a fresh idea or point out something we might have missed so we can finally solve this. Any help, ideas, or brainstorming is hugely appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Runs and drives, but has a weird rattling/ticking noise. Need help!