i have this old theory,( your hands are smarter than your head).

simply, your hands fixed the problem, not all the posts and thinking about it.

 

It would have been really good while you had the oil drain plug out to apply a cooling system pressure tester to make sure that the lack of coolant migration held up under pressure.

Maybe the coolant got in the oil during the original disassembly, or it was getting in there just prior to the head rework and the head rework fixed the problem.

 

AWESOME thread and narrative. I learned lots in this!!! Lots.
Thanks everyone!

 

I'll never know how the water ended up in the oil but 6 years later its still going strong as a daily driver

 

NICE!