[Rippin-J]

Heck yeah, all great input. I am getting pretty excited about tearing into it ...hopefully on Sunday.

Matt_KS - to your other two suggestions, would a flat lobe on the cam result in the valve not opening and closing (ie, not moving when I turn the motor)? AND, I have considered the piston ring (and pray that isn't the problem) but was told and have read that if the compression doesn't go up after adding oil directly to the cylinder before doing the test, then it's a valve issue. I tried that a couple of times and the reading never got any better. Is there another test I can try that would specifically target the piston rings?

couple more questions:
- what is 'the valley' you all are referring to? I assume it's the valley-like area between the heads beneath the intake. never seen one freshly opened so not exactly sure where to look for (and later to add) the oil/water mentioned above.
- what parts do I need to be sure to bring with me to the shop other than the heads? pushrods, etc?
- when everything is at the shop getting serviced, should I use a garbage bag or something to keep the block wrapped in to prevent stuff from getting into the cylinders?
- finally, is there any cleaning, inspecting or servicing that I can do myself on the pistons/cylinders while the heads are off?

Thanks again everyone, very helpful.