All that did was cause an engine tic? Geez.
On an engine with aftermarket heads I would not be running stock, non-adjustable Ford rockers. You really need to be able to set the lifter pre-load when running a high performance hydraulic cam and with aftermarket heads. But, I doubt the push rod wasn't properly in the lifter and rocker sockets or it would have self destructed immediately upon starting the engine - or at least you would have noticed it was only running on 7 cylinders. Same with coil bind. It also doesn't sound like this engine is radical enough for piston to valve clearance to be tight. So I suspect you have for whatever reason - a bent or stuck valve (or bent and stuck) or possibly a bad rocker. Also - what diameter are those pushrods? They look pretty small. Are they just stock Ford replacement? That's a heck of a bent pushrod - should be a keeper as a souvenir.
