[mach4g63t]

My friend was also asking me about the torque plate. I'm assuming it was, as this was a machine shop referred by a credible guy. Also, I will try using some oil on the rings/pistons when trying to put them back in. I'm going to call my machine shop tonight and double-check everything with him, but I wanted some secondary opinions. Thanks, and I will try and get some more info and use the oil on the rings.

EDIT

Another suggestion I just got from a friend who has built a few engines is that my crank might be warped. How could this happen? I had it polished and anytime that I did not have the crank in the journals of the block, it was standing straight up on the flat end. The crank was good and never had problems with it before. How common is it for something like that to happen?