Could an exhaust leak sound like a sprinkler? Or is this tapping/ticking be something else? You may remember from an earlier post I had this tapping noise and I thought my timing was too far advanced. I was right. The timing is perfect now but the ticking is still there. Any ideas?

Exhaust leak can definitely make a tick-tick-tick sound as the pressure is forced out through the leak. The only other sound I've heard close to that is bad hydraulic lifters. Don't know what engine you have though.

2.8 v6. The ticking is really only noticeable under load. Its most noticeable when I floor it in a high gear at low rpms. At idle there is ticking too but it is pretty quiet and really doesn't sound like anything more than regular valvetrain noise. When I'm coasting I can't hear it either.

Yes...it can sound just like one of those little tap tap sprinklers. It could be a loose bolt or a bad gasket, probably in the front manifold...(cause it's harder to fix.... )