if your confident in your valve adjustment procedures than go ahead. does the valve work good by just turning the engine over by hand? Sure the cam was at the right spot? doesn't sound like it

I think it means you have not got the engine rotated to the correct place to adjust that intake valve and you are still on the cam lobe. Thats the good news theory, the bad news theory is a missing valve seat or some other drama. Is the top of the valve approx level with the other intake valves? If you can rotate the engine with the valve adjusted as you have it without it binding then you should be OK to check compressions with starter motor, or better still do a leak down test in that cylinder. If you have none of that fancy kit, then remove all plugs and screw #6 in a few turns then rotate the engine through the compression stroke on #6 and you should get a nice hiss of compressed air leaking past the spark plug threads as you come up to TDC. If you do not then why not. You can remove the intake manifold and have a good look down the intake at the valve head. Same with the exhaust manifold removed and looking up into the exhaust port for inspecting the exhaust valve head. Something is wrong somewhere. Are we agreed that #6 is the rhs farthest away cylinder looking at the engine from the back? (123 lhs counting from the rear and 456 rhs counting from the rear again)

rotation is correct. Checked twice. No 6 is 1/2 inch higher at the valve cover than the other ones. Sounds like it sucked a valve. Now...... I feel like I need to remove the heads and have them worked and see whats going on in there.

Do I need to pull the engine to pull the heads? Its a 68 frame with a 72 engine with only 6K miles. Sat for a long time....
One more thing.

When I first tried to crank engine after lubing it for a while, there was a loud tapping noise from the passenger engine side... After 8 or so turns a huge pile of acorns flew out from the bottom... I assumed it was the acorns hitting the metal... I assumed wrong apparently.

I think I'll start a new thread on how to pull engine or heads unless you experts have any ideas.....

Thanks for all the help thus far...

Wes

Drop the engine and trans to remove heads, etc.

Accorns, really? Make sure there is nothing stuck, like a piece of accorn holding the valve open.

Sounds like his valve seat went AWOL, That would explain the blow back and the height difference.

Drop that engine and gearbox, its only held in with 4 bolts after all. (Did I mention drain the oil, disconnect speedo, engine wiring, starter connections, accelerator rod, clutch cable, earth strap, driveshafts, fuel lines) then the 4 bolts?

Update:
Rotated engine last night just to ensure that I had the engine in the proper spot for adjustment. Guess what.......
The passengers side cams are not turning at all....
Kind of hard to tell until you have someone turn while you watch with a mirror. I feel kind of stupid that I did not pick up on that earlier.. Amazing that the engine will still start and idle.
Ideas on next steps? Pull engine and check chain?
Still fun though.... Commited to get this car back on the road.

Update:
Rotated engine last night just to ensure that I had the engine in the proper spot for adjustment. Guess what.......
The passengers side cams are not turning at all....
Kind of hard to tell until you have someone turn while you watch with a mirror. I feel kind of stupid that I did not pick up on that earlier.. Amazing that the engine will still start and idle.
Ideas on next steps? Pull engine and check chain?
Still fun though.... Commited to get this car back on the road.

There is a pin that locks the cam chain sprocket, its been known to be left out and then the nut loosens and everything spins free. Other than that I guess the chain could be broken, drop that engine and start dismantling. Photos are nice.