easy way to tell if i got a solid cam or hydraulic?

340plot said

it has the little snap ring at the top, so it is a hydraulic cam.

when i first did them, i set them 1/4 turn beyond "0" lash, spun it over by hand, and had no compression. so i figured that it was opening the valves too much.

i have them all set at "0" lash, and the engine runs perfect now.

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Hydraulic lifters should have pre-load. Setting them at "0" lash is not usually a good deal.

Most hydraulic lifters call for .020 to .060" of pre-load. Since most adjusters are 20 TPI, that means each full turn is .05". Some aren't though, so you should check the TPI on the adjusters. At any rate, a 1/4 to half turn of pre-load should be good for a performance cam, which tend to like less pre-load. That doesn't usually mean "0" pre-load, more like .020", which should be a little less than 1/2 a turn.

If you have no compression at a 1/4 turn of pre-load (which should only be like .0125"), either you're measuring incorrectly, you have a massive amount of cam overlap, or, as some have suspected, something is broken.