John,
I'm not an expert on Paul Young rods either. If you want the best estimate of its builder, you might send photos to Bob Summers.
Bob Golder is probably the best expert about PHY rods other than Bob Summers. Golder is very active on Clark's Board (the CFRF), and I did some sleuthing with the CFRF search engine. The following information is either from his PHY database, Golder's CFRF posts, or Bob Summers' web site.
The serial numbers of PHY rods increased incrementally over the decades and were assigned as individual rods were finished. Paul Young was notorious, however, for skipping hundreds or even a thousand numbers occasionally. The speculation is that he did this to confuse his competitors. The serial number of your rod dates to the middle or late 1980s, pretty solidly in the Todd Young era.
The most informative landmarks of dates that I could find before and after serial #4898 are:
1. One of the very last rods finished by Bob Summers in the PHY shop is serial #4710.
2. One of the very first rods finished by Jack Young in the PHY shop is serial #4722.
3. Serial #4874 is a Martha Marie received new in May, 1984.
4. Serial #4890 is a Driggs "possibly built by Todd Young".
5. Serial #4895 is a Driggs believed by its owner to have been built by Todd Young.
(Your #4898 would be here.)
6. Serial #4916 is a Para 14 described by its owner as "a late 1980s Todd Young-era rod".
7. Serial #4966 is a Princess built by Todd Young in spring 1993.
About the handwriting on your Perfectionist...
I've cropped and edited for color temperature and clarity your photo of #4898:
Some examples of Bob Summers' handwriting:
One example of Jack Young's handwriting:
One example of Todd Young's handwriting:
There's not a lot to go on with only a single Todd Young inscription. His handwriting appears similar to Bob Summers'. The Summers' inscriptions look more cursive and flowing to me, but you can be the judge. The inking is inconclusive, but Bob Summers was well established in his own shop by the mid 1980s. Might Summers have inked or finished a Todd Young rod? I don't know, but the two shops were across town from each other.
Cheers,
Phil