Long story short, i was setting timing and used exhaust cam torx to reverse cam a touch and loosened the bolt a 1/4 turn. not sure if anything moved. is tht all that needs to happen to throw off vvt because i just crossed fingers tightened the bolt, set timing on marks, rotated by hand a few revs, still looked on marks, attempted start, and it seems so close to running but just wont stay lit.

 

i will answer my own question in case anyone else is in need of the info, but no the end with a torx is a cap, the actual vvt nut being behind this cap.