Thanks for all the help in understanding this, guys. I would maintain that if exessive crud got into the bearings, it came from inside the oil galleys, as I did not clean them upon assembly. I did, however make sure that all surfaces were clean, clean, clean. I may have missed something, but I am pretty confident about the cleanliness of my assembly (outside of the oil galleys). The main bearing clearances were measured at .0018 - .0022 with plastiguage. This jived with what the machinist told me he worked to, which was .002. I realize this is a little tight for a race motor, but well within specs for a street motor. It did spin freely by hand on the snout upon install.

In an effort to make sure I check every detail this time, I just purchased some tools online. I have a bore guage indicator, and a set of micrometers on the way. I already have a dial indicator with a magnetic base and a bridge base. I should be tooled up to check every detail this time.