The plunger is sticking in the bore, and won't accept a preload. Remove that lifter and give the piston a mirror polish on a felt buffing wheel with jeweler's rouge. Do the same thing to the bore of the outer part with a gun cleaning wool mop and rouge, chucked into a drill motor. The plunger should slide freely in and out of the lifter when the lifter cleaned of all oil with a solvent such as brake cleaner, without sticking.

BTW, your adjustment procedure is incorrect, according to the service manual. It's virtually impossible to get the correct preload on a lifter with the engine running.
Jerry

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