All cylinders filling with water

I have read through this thread and I haven't really seen anyone ask:

When you removed the heads were there any impressions in the gaskets?

Did you chase the threads out in the holes? And blow them out with compressed air?

Did you use any sealant of any kind on the studs?

What order did you torque the head bolts in?

Did you torque in steps or all at once? For example snug, 35, 65, 90.

When tightening with the torque wrench are you using a nice steady pull or a kind of jerky motion at the end?

If you have a set of calipers try measuring the thickness of the used gasket around the cylinder holes. What do you get?