""Have you checked the lifters for the "crown"?""

I did finally get around to pulling all the lifters and each one was smooth and the center had a roundish color to it versus the outer part of the lifter face. This appears to be the crown. The lobes on the cam were fine too. The shiny lobes were the lighting. I doubt that I will reuse this cam/lifter set on the rebuild.

I know that I have excessive crank endplay. I have not measured it yet, but the crank makes a good "thunk" noise when I pull/push it with the dampner. In a few weeks I will be getting back on this project. The engine is ready to pull, I just need to pickup a hoist and get it on my stand. Then I will get the crank out and see how much damage is on the crank. The only photo that I have right now on the thrust bearing area is this assembly. But when I zoom in on the crank, it appears that there may be some damage.

Thanks!