1) No, i did not re-torque any of the head bolts after running it for a while; i now read that you're supposed to do that.
Didn't check any of the manifold bolts either.
i can't say with 100% certainty that i put sealant on the head bolts, BUT upon inspection, there appears to be some sort of sealant on all the bolts AND if the books said to use it (i used 3 books), then i very probably DID use sealant on all the bolts.
a) engine "lasted" about 4000 miles after the head got put back on.
2) The "mis-diagnosis" was that white smoke was coming out of the right side exhaust pipe only----i have true duals. So, i thought it "must" be the right side head gasket. It turned out to be the vacuum modulator on the trans----this was discovered by sheer luck as the tube from the modulator to the intake fell off during a test drive and the smoking immediately stopped. i also noticed that the trans would not shift past 2nd gear.
On quadrajet manifolds the vac modulator tube plugs into the right side of the manifold, thus trans fluid was being burned by cyls on the right side of the engine etc. etc........
3) As far as the valve, do you think maybe cyl #4 filled up with water and the hydroliced taking the exhaust valve with it? i'm "pretty sure" i adjusted the rocker(s) right before putting the valve cover back on.
a) why can't the piston simply be "cleaned up" and run as is? When i say "imbedded" i meant that when i took the head off i noticed that the head of the valve was stuck to the top of the cylinder---sort of like i coin on it's side. But i was able to remove it with my hands. You can probably see the vertical scuff mark in the pic----posted a better picture, previous one was incorrect.