Your piston ring kit should come with a diagram that illustrates the ring position. Any marking on a ring, not just a dot, indicates that that side is installed facing the top of the piston.

I used teflon pipe thead paste to seal my head bolt threads. I have seen people use RTV silicone, but that does not work. You could use lock-tite, but I prefer the teflon pase beacuse it has lubricating properties which help you achieve a more accurate torque.