I found bent pushrods when I got my truck. If I were you, and this is what I did. Take off the head and disassemblet the entire rocker assembly. Clean everything very well and inspect. Make sure the valves are not stuck.
Get a new head gasket and exhaust and intake gaskets and new pushrods. The old ones may have been straightened and weakened in the past and they are cheap to replace.
Put it all back together. You will have no more worries with the top end. Total parts $50.- plus the rockershaft parts you broke.
If the engine is high miles and the valves look in good shape don't do a valve job while head is off. Making the head efficient now could cause ring blow by.
