Quick follow up question....

On a fresh motor, how can I identify "abnormal" lifter wear or defective lifter after I pull the intake ? Will it be painfully obvious? Remember, only about 7 hours of run time on the motor and the one that was making noise was solid (pumped up) after I shut the motor down.

Any problem with replacing the lifter(s) in question since the cam has been broken in already ? I have read that you should not install new lifters on an "old" cam....
Going to tear it down tonight and start the process.