soooo, I'm measuring for pushrod length. Got my adjustable pushrod, light weight checker springs, my sharpie, and it took a few tries, but I got a nice thin mark, right down the center! However...I noticed that when I set the valve lash, the valves are opening ever so slightly when I give it the extra "1/2" turn past zero lash. Now, my guess is that this is strictly due to the check springs being soft, AND....regardless....the geometry of the rocker arm still isn't changing, so the length SHOULD be good to go. Right?

...does this all make sense? Am I good to go?

 

Yes, when you get the valvetrain to zero lash, and then give it that 1/2 turn, it will open the valve slightly until the hydraulic lifter takes time to compress.
You're OK.

 

sweet. thanks.

 

Sometimes i think owners try and make to much science out of the rocker arm/vlv tip pattern. No matter which way u do it u want a contact patch centered over the middle 1/3 of the vlv tip. And u want to check your rocker for clearance on the spring retainer and the stud itself.

Best geometry is to have the centerline of rocker arm 90 degrees to the vlv stem at 50% lobe lift. But that can be painful w/o good tools. Myself i use the "checker tool" from ProForm or Manley. Gets the job done in minutes - not hours. But then i run modest lift cams.