[WorkinLonghorn]

Update; After almost 4 weeks in the shop with me coming in a couple or three days to do some of the work my GM performance 195 HP Chevy 350 from Jegs was apparently ready to fire up. I gave the guy the printed instructions on how to break it in and told him to call me before he started it up. Well he didn't call and when I went in yesterday to check on progress it had been run. I wanted to check it out and started it up and it sounded like crap, missing badly and running very rough. So I held it at ~2000-2500 (by ear, the tach is not hooked up) for 10 minutes or so but it was not pretty.
So the guy tells me to replace the plug wires and I got a set and put them on even though the old set worked perfectly on the old engine, no change. I got it home and checked for vacuum leaks (none found), changed a few wires, no improvement.

Funny thing with this crate motor is that the valve covers must be glued on. It you remove all of the bolts and try to pry a cover off, the cheap and thin metal just starts to fold up and distort the cover.

I am thinking that the cam is toast. If so, and I will HAVE to mangle a cover to get in and see the lift at the rockers, then I will need to find another mechanic or roll the dice again with this guy ($550) and take it out, send it from here (california) to Ohio, get a anew one and start over. WOW not the result I expected!!! And my business is in the toilet as a result of not having my truck. Tomorrow I might take it on a few jobs that have to be done, 75 miles total even with the missing and roughness. Crap!