Thanks to Greg Good - he figured it out and tracked me down on my mobile to explain why I was so frustrated! Despite the fact that he had it set up the right way initially, I must have accidentially swapped sides while putting the gaskets on, etc. Oh well - now I know my engine even better than I thought I already did!
Greg - when I got home this evening I easily found the plug you were describing and it looks fairly straight forward from here. I will yell if I run into trouble.
Guys, I will post a complete chronology on my rebuild in the next 7 - 10 days - however, in the mean time, let me give huge kudos to Greg Good. Not only is this guy technically brilliant when it comes to heads and motors, he is a great guy who is willing to go above and beyond the call of duty to make sure you get things set up right. In my case it meant spending 4+ hours at my house on a Saturday afternoon pressure testing my block and measuring for pushrod length and a second Saturday afternoon where we spent 3 hours installing pushrods, roller rockers, and setting the pre-load on the valves. He is a class act and I would highly recommend him.
