I finally got around to replacing the sway bar bushings, and the cushions on the link bolts and after a test drive that's definitely what was making all the knocking noise. Years of grime and corrosion made these bolts a real pain and caused me to snap one of the bolts off in the lower control arm and one of the sway bar links. I spent a lot of time drilling out the broken off piece and I was going to replace the link bolt but when i called my local dealer, they quoted me over 90 bucks for the thing, and said there was only 1 left in the country out in CA. So i welded it back together hopefully it holds. I replaced all the hardware with new stainless pieces. There is still a very subtle knock but much much quieter now, plus it handles noticeably better and just has a more solid feel when driving. thanks for the help glad I didn't jump straight to the ball joint.