A highly entertaining game produced everything but goals as both sides concentrated on attack.
For Preston, who lost an unbeaten 22-match run in their previous outing at Reading, it was another step towards cementing a place in the play-offs, while Argyle took another significant step towards Championship safety.
Preston gave a debut to on-loan Norwich midfielder Jason Jarrett, who spent six weeks on loan at Plymouth over Christmas, but his familiarity with the surroundings failed to produce a breakthrough.
The visitors went close in the opening minute when Brian O'Neil headed Paul McKenna's floated free-kick wide, while Argyle's David Norris made a break from halfway before forcing a save from North End goalkeeper Carlo Nash.
Norris then snatched at an opportunity, screwing his shot across the face of the goal and wide before Argyle goalkeeper Romain Larrieu dropped Tyrone Mears' lofted cross.
The ball dropped for Dichio, whose shot was blocked by Larrieu, and, with the rebound begging to be converted, Simon Whaley blasted it high over the crossbar.
Substitute Akos Buzsaky, on for the injured Mathias Doumbe, almost made an immediate impact when Vincent Pericard rolled a pass to the young Hungarian, but Nash saved at the foot of his left-hand post.
Preston's Chris Sedgwick and Dave Nugent both went close with headers in the second half as chances for both sides became few and far between.
For Argyle, man-of-the-match Norris nearly set up Tony Capaldi in the dying minutes after breaking down the Preston left, but his pull-back was cut out at the last by the impressive Claude Davis.