Originally posted by DennyW
Which side of the motor ? Pass, or drivers ?
Driver's side of the motor: 3,5, and 7.

Makes me think the whole affair started with coil bind or retainer interference on one head, leading to wiping out the lobes on that bank.
Sounds reasonable. By wiping out the lobes on that bank: you mean on the cam?

As I think about this, when I had my first symptoms (when we pulled off and was experiencing the severe detonation), I had a really hard miss. Maybe one set of valves had the problem then. Then when I was close to home, when I heard the stud/studs break, the others went.

I wonder if driving on the engine with the valves non functional in 1 cylindar would contribute to the others failing. If so, why do you think that would that be?