The plungers should be all the way to the top of their travel, regardless of whether they are full of oil or not. If for some reason they are not, there is a problem with the lifter(s). The pattern you have on that valve stem looks good to me.
What I meant was, when you turn the engine over, and the lifter has no oil in it, the plunger will depress, losing lift at the valve. The spring in the plunger is usually weaker than the checking spring, so unless you use a solid lifter - or give the rocker a gentle push on the valve end to decompress the plunger - then you will see anywhere from .020" or more lift missing at the valve.
That valve-tip pattern looks fine to me, too. Pushrod length will not affect geometry on a shaft rocker system - you need either spacers on the shaft or lash caps on the valve (or short or longer valves) to adjust the pattern.