another update...
I've put everything back together and now i've got a coolant leak coming off the back end of the motor.
Is it possible that I need to do some more torqueing to yielding to get my head gasket to set properly? how about a couple brief heat cycles to allow the sealing surface of the gasket to flow? I've posted a couple other specific posts related to this project but it sort of seems that these longer posts lose interest with the masses. Thanks for some valuable input so far. I've run the motor less than 5 minutes FWIW.

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2001 x5 3.0 (sold with broken motor), 1990 e30 M3, 1991 318is, 2002 325i, 2008 335i Dinan stage 3 6 speed,