There is an O-ring on the pump that could be the culprit by letting air into the system. Search for it on here or Google it. It's a fairly common thing on Pilot and Odyssey as well. Easily replaceable and should fix your whining issue along with the new reservoir and fluid.
Thanks Ian. It seems logical if an O Ring is located in the system where air can enter, shouldn't fluid be escaping as well? I'm not well versed on that so unsure.
For anyone who might be experiencing a similar issue, the sound I'm hearing is a variation of "typical" PS pump whine. It is not constant and as immediately familiar as other vehicles with PS pump issues. Steering is appropriately "light" and 99.9992% of the time steering is totally noise free. After clearing my head of preconceived notions on the location and cause of the sound, it now appears to be originating in the lower passenger side engine bay and only occurs at engine speeds around 2K RPM under slight R or L turns.
Based on comments on the forum about "clogged screens" at the bottom of the PS tank, I'm imagining enough fluid can find its way thru the screen at low and high pressure but with mild fluid turbulence, it skips over the screen causing the pump to cavitate - which explains the sound disappearing with increased/decreased engine speed and the champagne sized bubbles I've seen. But that's pure speculation at this point.
I've looked around but don't see specific info on the culprit O Ring. New tank arrives tomorrow and Saturday morning is set aside to do a version of the drain, turn, fill procedure. While I'm under there, gonna keep both eyes open for signs of minor leaks. One thing for sure, no driveway drips at this point.