Back to the wins...
My scope is junk, but I can't see any piston or cylinder damage.
There are used junkyard heads out there with less than 60k miles for under $200
I already have a head gasket
Due to the time constraints, rather than doing everything the right way, I might just slap a used head on it with a new timing chain just to get mobile again. Then once I know where I'll be living, go ahead and get a second donor powertrain (one with the LSD tranny) and build that block from the ground up.
I do have some questions since the engine won't rotate to TDC. Once I pull the old head I need to rotate the crank until cylinders 1 and 4 are at full extension. This should put the mark on the lower timing chain sprocket to roughly 5 o clock. I match the colored chain link to the mark on the lower sprocket. Then I set the intake cam to roughly 2, and the exhaust to roughly 10 and match those links also. Then carefully reattach the cam sensor, tensioner, covers, etc. Is it really that simple or am I missing something?