On the deck surface there are supposed to be 2 dowel pins that engage the head.
I noticed there's only one dowel pin for the drivers side of my block.

I was able to get the heads on (not torqued yet) without getting the gasket ****-eyed.
Do these pins have any function other than keeping the gasket aligned?

 

Once the head is torqued into place, the dowels have little use. Still, they're cheap insurance against any possible head shifting from heat/cool cycles and resultant gasket leakage.

As long as you haven't torqued the head down, I'd be tempted to pull it and install the second dowel. In case you're wondering, the dowels I have are measuring 0.312" (5/16") x 0.590" average length (or about 19/32"). The diameter is important, but the length is not super critical since any excess will be pushed into the cooling jacket in the cylinder case. If you're really pressed, you could probably cut a shank from a 5/16" bolt and chamfer the ends to ease installation. They are not any special material.

 

i agree i'd want both pins i nthe block to index the head and gasket and to prevent excessive movement.