[Wbulk]

Just roll those push rods on a flat counter and you can see if they are bent.
On the valve geometry there are three basic areas that could cause problems. 1. The distance from the bottom of the retainer to the top of the valve seal- This distance has to be greater than the valve lift designed into the cam. If not the bottom of the retainer can hit the valve stem and do damage. The valves springs have to be removed to check this. 2. Coil Bind- When the valve is fully open you should have about .060" clearance between each coil of the spring. Often times coil bind is from the use of the wrong spring for higher a lift cam. Changing the spring, retainer, or the valves can effect this. 3. Retainer to Rocker Clearance- The rocker on the inside my hit the spring retainer because the rocker is not compatable with the diameter of the spring used.

A lot of the cam companies have tech information in their catalogs that explain these in detail. Usually you can download those in PDF files.

Wayne