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As I was out for a ride, I noticed a repetetive whirring coming from somewhere near the front sprocket- Or, at least, I'm pretty sure that's where it's coming from.

It's not quite a grinding, but it sounds like some sort of contact problem. I jacked up the bike, and the rear wheel spins freely in neutral except for a small area which seems to need just a *little* more force to spin around. Not sure if it's from the rear wheel or from whatever might be wrong up towards the front.

The noise has an accompanying gritty feel, which rather reminds me of a bent rotor rubbing lightly at a certain point once per cycle on the brake pad. No amount of variation of pressure or speed in braking seems to affect the problem.

There's no obvious performance issues, and I only hear it when I've got the clutch pulled in (probably because it's not loud enough to hear over the exhaust, not because it isn't happening).

I ran the bike downhill in neutral and it still makes this noise.

I lubed and adjusted the chain a day or so ago, and the adjustment notches are at the same point on each side. I had also ridden over a set of train rails cut deeply into the road, but I doubt that had much impact on anything.

Any ideas?

Sounds like your chain may not have stretched evenly. You also may have it adjusted too tightly. You should always adjust the chain so that you have the specified slack at its tightest point.

Do you know how many miles/KMs are on on this chain/sprocket set?

I don't know how many miles are on the current chain/sprockets, but if it helps at all, I do know that the bike had 12K~ miles on it, and was used only as a touring bike which, more or less, consisted of about six hour rides pretty much all on the highway.

Since I've had it, April 20th, I've put 2K~ miles on it, under all sorts of conditions, speeds, accelerations, etc.

Think that would do it?

I'd hoped that, maybe, I'd just missed a section of the chain with the lube, and that it was getting very 'dry'?

If I did adjust it too tightly, will it have stretched the chain improperly? I take it that's a permanent situation, until I replace the chain. Should I stop riding the bike until I do?

Most people can get 15 to 20K miles from a chain... some alot more, some alot less... but that's probably a ballpark average. Your owner's manual should give you the service limits of the chain. Basically, you stretch the chain tight and measure the length of a specified number of links. You'll want to check several different sections of the chain since most chains stretch a bit unevenly. If any section of the chain isn't within the specs, you should get ready to replace it.
I don't think you damaged it by adjusting it too tight, but I guess anything is possible. You should be able to slacken the chain just a little to get a few more miles out of it, but I'd suggest shopping for a new chain/sprocket set.

Sounds like your chain may have a tight spot. That would indicate the need for replacement soon. I just went through the same problem. It started as you describe. Then, over time (maybe 1000 miles) the bike began to get very jerky, almost like the clutch might be slipping. Basically, it felt like I was quickly blipping the throttle or grabbing and releasing the clutch. Once that started, it just gradually got worse. I changed the chain and sprockets and the problem is gone.