Thanks David! It feels good to make progress. There for a while it seemed like the deeper I dug, the more I screwed up.
Progress for this week included figuring out that I still need to figure out how to degree the camshaft, putting on the front and rear timing covers, bolting on the oil pump, and the torquing down the cylinder heads.
Here is the engine with the heads bolted down. Before putting them on I measured how much the piston comes out of the bore (0.002"), and then subtracted that from the thickness of the headgasket (0.051) and it was 0.049". I think that is a little thicker than optimal, but I think I'm just going to run it.
One thing I wanted to mention is that my trailblazer LH6 block had a plug in the side that I was able to knock out for the oil dip stick. I read that some have to be drilled and some have plugs. I lucked out and had a plug. I also found that I will have to get the truck power steering/alternator bracket and power steering pump in order to clear the steering box. The trailblazer pump sticks out too far.
Next step will be to degree the cam (I really want to skip this, but its something that probably needs to be done). After that, I will go ahead and put the valley cover, oil pan, and harmonic balancer.