Wondering if you have a loose brake spring or adjuster on your rear brakes making the ticking sound ??? Check your caliper mounting bolts as well in the front. If they come loose, you will have that ticking sound as the calipers rattle from being loose but tighten up when you apply the brakes thus eliminating the ticking.
As far as the brake pedal feel, I had a similiar brake pedal feel and changed the rear shoes and when I went to have the drums turned, the drums were so warped they couldn't be turned so I replaced them with brand new Napa gold drums. Brakes feel 100% different and pedal firmness is back to normal.
You didn't mention if the clicking is comming from the front or the rear but if your not sure, you can alway hit the e-brake while driving and see if the ticking goes away. If it does, you definetely know the problem is in the rear brakes. How does your e-brake feel when depressed ?? Does if feel out of adjustment ??
