Good afternoon @psfrank. I have come back to your post because I am puzzled. I am wondering if heat might help you. There are also special neck collars that massage therapists can recommend for you. Or you can look on Amazon. Here is one that comes with heat.

I have a very noisy neck....it crackles and pops all the time. And it gets very stiff. My MFR therapist works on it at both of my weekly sessions. I did have surgery on my neck several years ago and have titanium fusions. Unfortunately when I move, especially after being still for a while, the ligaments around the surgical pop against the titanium blocks. I am used to it now and no there is no danger.....just noisy popping.

The other thing you may want to explore is how you sleep. Is your neck elevated on your pillow? Do you change positions during the night of which you are aware? Once again, when this happens, I head to my MFR therapist so she can release and relax my nighttime "hangups".

What do you think about those options? I sure can vouch for them.

Here is a photo of the neck I am dealing with these days.

May you be safe and protected from inner and outer harm.
Chris