Lol, been there done that.

Well it is in fact the seal. I'm pretty perplexed though as it seems like something got to it. I'll relook at my timing belt gear again but I pretty certain there's nothing on the back side to get to make contact with the seal. I don't know, the whole thing seems bizarre to me but hopefully a new OEM seal ill stop the leak. Side note for anyone who may not know this, but I was able to get the front timing belt covers off without taking the valve cover loose. Prior to reinstalling the topmost front cover I will trim back just a small amount of the portion which fits up inside the valve cover extension to lessen the struggle on putting it back in.

A picture for reference.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...3556f0a1a4.jpg

looks like it got pinched on install, thats actually a best case scenario. Hopefully you can just put in a new OEM seal and slap it back together

You're supposed to put a tiny bit of oil on the sealing surfaces of the seal so it slides in a bit easier right? Hopefully that'd help with the not pinching on install. I had to go buy a few extra seals because my noob ass kept pinching them and apparently I still messed it up haha.

yea i use assembly lube on the crank and on the seal to aid in installation.

Closure
 

Hello again, I wanted to write back and thank everyone for chiming in. I installed an OEM seal and there are now no leaks. I will make no further comment on it because I can't be entirely certain that I played a part in the original seal failing.

Thanks again,
Ken