steering noise and sloppyness

so when driving down the highway and near the middle barrier, any slight turn in the steering wheel i hear a real fast clicking, almost like a bird tweeting continuously...you can hear the sound immediately when i turn the wheel to the right and after 1 second after turning the wheel to the left. the steering has been feeling sloppy for a while now and have more than ever heard this noise.

any idea what can be causing this? worn out steering gear? i know our shafts can go bad but would it cause this noise?

things to consider:
-car is a 96 with 87k on the body/chassis..
-when car was lowered, did not replace sway bar bushings, however looking at them they appear to be ok.
-i have also had a recent alignment and tires have not weared abnormally one bit.

any insight is greatly appreciated

thanks

i should have added that the ball joints were replaced approx. 5k miles ago which eliminated a different sound....my belief it is in the steering rack/hydraulic pump, just not sure what to do!