I believe the “0” clearance was done with the cam in at 104, and zero lash....... and I think the .044 is with the cam at 106 and lash.

What I meant was, when it was checked with zero lash and the clearance was zero...... if you had the lash set of .020, you’d have had .020 clearance.
Still far enough from something preferred that it’s likely going to be a marginal fit.

I’ll test the theory about how the spring tension gives you a little extra clearance by pulling the valve into the head harder.
I’ll measure the valve drop between no spring, and then with a spring that’s about 200 on the seat.

Of course, any elasticity there might be over the length of the valve when it’s closed will be removed once the valve comes off the seat.
At that point, the load on the valve is between the tip and the keeper groove.