My cranking compression was between 180 and 192 the last 2 times that I checked. These consistant numbers made diagnosing the oil burning problem difficult. My machinist thinks that the 2 cams that went bad may have led to rapid ring wear. I also wonder if the overrich Demon 850 may have caused some increased wear due to dilution of the oil and cylinder wash. A Dyno shop had installed a 7.5 power valve. I have read recently that the power valve should be HALF the number of the engines vacuum while idling in gear. This motor certainly never had 15 inches of idle vacuum. The overrich condition during cruise and throttle tip in must have dumped alot of fuel in the cylinders! I switched to a 3.5 PV at the same time that I added vacuum advance, but by then, the motor was in need of a rering anyway.
I am now leaning toward using the .039 gaskets I already have. The tighter sealing pistons and (hopefully) reduction of oil burning should return the motor to the power level it had when I first built it in October 2004. Thanks everyone for all the suggestions!