Brian,here is how to check the ring gap. Take a compression ring, insert it into the cylinder and use the head of the piston (upside down), to push it down into the cylinder to near the end of the ring travel. Next take your feeler gauges and measure the gap. Your ring instructions will tell you what the gap should be but I think it is around .003" per inch of bore diameter. If you don't have a wide enough gap you will end up with a failed engine.
