Here’s an update. I followed most of your suggestions. Tightened the cleats, lubed and tightened the pedals, chainrings and other driveline components. Made sure the FD cable was out of the way. Checked the seatpost and more.
Problem is is still there. It doesn’t show until after about 10 miles but it’s still there. It’s more prominent under heavier load and relatedly up hills. The sound is between a creak and a click and is worse as the load increases like in the big ring, 13 tooth sprocket. Any more thoughts?