So after all the compression testing, my lower end is all in good shape and all my piston rings appear to be in good shape.

I do have vacum fluctuations that suggest problems with the opening and closing of my intake valves. I followed this route and went to the noisier side of the engine. I took off the valve cover and exposed the rocker arms. I then removed each of the intake rockers one at a time. 2,4, and 6 made no change when removed other than the usual popping. Number 8 however completely eleminated my clacking and ticking! I then removed the exhaust valve and it got even quieter.

I don't have any way to tell the condition of the rollers on the lifters otherwise I would just swap cams if I knew the lifters were ok. As it stands, I might as well swap camshaft, heads, and lifters all at once to be safe.

Hopefully tommorow the machine shop will have some good news and i can just wait it out till my new engine is finished, bring it home, assemble it, and then swap.