[Excaliber]

How can you tell the block has not been decked, thats a tough call without precision measuring.

My rockers look much like yours, but mine use spacers, not springs. Could be loose valve lash or springs for this application are incorrect. Valve train geometry (clearance of push rod in several areas of measurment for example) is often over looked. Proper clearance is 'assumed' rather than verified. Verification of ALL items on a motor is what makes one builder 'great' and another an 'also ran'.

$7000, while a lot of money, is cheap for an FE. I spent about $4000 on PARTS and machine shop work alone when I rebuilt mine, and that was for the SHORT BLOCK only (no heads, etc.)!