I think you may be thinking about the stories circulating about solid roller lifters. I don't recall that there were any issues about hydraulic roller lifters at all.
A few years back, the solid roller lifters were not pressure fed, so they had to be examined and rebuilt on a regular basis. The valve lash really put a shock load on the bearings and with no
oil to them, they would wear quickly.
Now, Comp has their pressure fed lifters, and there are lots of other brands that will work as well...Crower, Isky, etc.
As for distributor gears, you just up the correct material with the camshaft gear material.