This is what happens when you do not change your oil

[KenWittlief]

I wonder if its possible to tell if the engine ran dry?

when oil has been used for a long time it gets thinner (lower viscosity), not thicker. The oil filter should remove any sludge.

Maybe the engine was running rich? O2 sensor shot? Valve fouled out throughing a lot of carbon into the oil?

Sadly many people think, when the oil light comes on it means you have to stop at the next gas station and buy another quart of oil

what it really means is, you better turn the engine off in a matter of seconds, because when the oil light comes on your engine is running bare metal against metal.

I figured out once (did the math) that a tie rod bearing has about 10 tons of force on it during NORMAL operation (when the piston fires). With no oil pressure on the bearing it doesnt last very long.