Good news! Head is on and purring like a kitten! The vibration I was experiencing turned out to be those bad cylinders getting the water in them. No more vibration. My cheapo chrome valve cover won't seal for crap so today it's back to the boneyard to find the stock one. No big loss. Celebrating my return to being a daily driver! Thanks for all the help folks.
The old ones can be a pain as well. You need to be a bit of a tin smith to get even them to seal. I place the cover on the head without the gasket and check to see if the sides are bowed out (they all seem to be bowed out somewhat), then check to see if the seal area of the cover is tight where it meets the head and adjust with a hammer and appropriate sized punch to massage the cover for a tight fit.
Carl
