I was able to turn the engine in the opposite direction until it stuck again. Then I reversed again and rotated it in the normal direction as far as I could.

It acts like a rod is bent because it moves freely for a certain part of the stroke.

Buying a used engine would be the cheapest route but they are still like $3500-$7500 depending on the seller.

Part of me wants to go back with something better if I am going to go through trouble of fixing it. Maybe some performance parts like cams, exhaust, etc.