Oh also...
Any advice on checking the lifters and rocker assemblies? I had an intermittent 'tick' that was REALLY loud. It really sounded like something was actually fumbling around in the heads. But as far as I can tell, things look great. One rocker assembly is darker in color than the other (possible replacement in the past? one side of the motor hotter than the other?). The darker one was on the side that ticked too. I really just do not want to spend the $400 to replace it.
The thing that bugs me is the fact that the ticking/knocking was intermittent. Only happened with the car warm, but there was no real consistency to it. If I drove a long distance it usually went away and I almost never heard it above 1500 RPMs or so.
Also, I found a few exhaust bolts to be slightly loose. Could that have been it? I have just never seen/heard of an intermittent exhaust leak. The cylinder sleeves look fine also (don't know how hard it really is to tell if one has dropped or not).