About the oil pressure gage, I was too caught up in getting it down the road, and only glanced at the temp gage noting that it didn't seem hot. Never looked at the oil pressure... That will be the first thing I check when I run it again.
Tonight I loosened the fan belt, and noticed that the fan was still not turning by hand at all... Figured that might be GOOD news in that a water pump isn't as big a deal as a seized engine, so I put it back in 3rd and gave it a good shove. This time I had a light focused on the bottom pulley, and saw it moving backwards!!
I kept shoving and it kept moving, so I breathed a sigh of relief and turned my attention back to the water pump. Wondered why did it feel like it was totally welded in place when the belt never squealed at all on my trip around the block. Then I noticed the problem. One of the dang fan blades was jammed in the bottom lip of the radiator... A few taps with a hammer, the blade was loose and the pump spun freely (2 for 2 now...). The blade that jammed is about an 8th of an inch off of the radiator face when level with the ground, while the other 3 are about 5/8" clear of the radiator. It was making a slight tapping sound when It was idling, but stopped once it was revved or under load, so I didn't worry about it. I never imagined the fan could jam in the radiator like that.
So, I guess I was being overly pessimistic about what had happened, feared the worst knowing the compression was bad and was certain that my good luck on this project had finally run out. Well, I'm back in it now, and will see how far I get next time.
Thanks for all the suggestions and support. So much good info and experienced guys willing to help. This has been a good learning experience for sure.
