Been a long time.... but here's an update.
Both heads on my motor were cracked. I bought a set out of a junkyard, they too were cracked internally, had to do a pressure test to find them as they "looked" good.

Got lucky, bought a set of heads off Craigslist that were fresh and cheap, had them checked out anyway. They were good, but had a valve job done, new seals, and decked them .003" (I think that's the figure). Had valves and springs checked out, all healthy. Total investment, $280 for the pair.

Top end gasket set bought, Melling oil pump (one step up from stock) purchased ($39) and planning on cleaning the valley and such with kerosene before pulling the pan and washing the block down internally. Then we start putting it back together...

Damn I miss my truck!