Valve Spring Dampner

The 294s is the cam you were running? If so the Edelbrock springs are not strong enough. Not enough spring is as bad as too much and will wipe a cam just as fast. You cannot use "max lift" to see if a spring is usable. You have to use the pressures, and the RPM supplied springs are lighter than the dual assemblies Comp wants (p/n 995-16) should be around 150lbs on the seat and 365lbs over the nose and that's only with a true lift of .485" after lash and pushrod angles.

What you need to do, aside from using the right springs and breaking it in on the outers only (yes, you're right that the dampener flat wound wire is not considered a spring and stays in place...), is you need to check for lifter rotation and the actual lifter bore diameter. If the bores are bigger than .906 you may have a problem. To check for rotation, put the lifters on the cam dry... no break in lube, with a little WD40 on the lifter body (not oil). Mark the top of each lifter and bore with a felt tip marker, then rotate the engine. As each lifter rides up and down the lobe, it will (or should) rotate very slightly each time. If under this setup a lifter doesnt turn, swap them around until they all do. Then, add the break in lube on the lobes and install the lifters in thier respective bores. Turning the lifters by your hand does not take into account the bore size (wear), or the angles of the lifter bores (which vary drastically in factory machining). The lobe has to turn them.