Thanks! Is there anywhere else it could be? I pulled it apart today and lightly sanded the area to see if I was missing it due to the paint. I don’t see anything, and it looked like it was the original paint.
Looking at a bigger picture like the one above, it appears to be further down the frame from where you scuffed the paint, a little more toward the rear of the engine.
Thank you for your help and responses!. I looked lower like you suggested and still didn't see anything, so I decided to check the other side of the frame. The VIN is at the very bottom of the frame, right in front of the brake drum and stamped upside down.