Any chance of a video? It almost sounds like oil has filled the crank cases, which would mean the oil is not being returned to the tank, is that possible?
You probably know this but oil is scavenged from one place only, the return pipe situated in the sump plate, all oil pumped into and around the engine has to drain back to that pipe, that pipe returns the oil to the tank, albeit some is "diverted" to the rocker box.
The bottom of the timing chest is always (unless the timing cover is off
) filled with oil up to the level of the drain hole in the inner case, which is above the bottom of the plain bearing bush, so it actually runs in oil even when the oil pump is not pumping.