cam degreeing needed?

There are no variables when measuring off the lifter/tappet. Timing at .050 tappet lift is pretty much an industry standard and has been for a long time. At least as long as I've been involved in building engines which is close to 40 years. I remember a lot of Comp/cam dyn/crane/erson cam cards with .050 tappet numbers on them.

Measuring at the valve retainer can have some really whacky results especially with a hyd lifter. Lifter doesn't collapse on front side, gets smashed over the nose to change preload, then the backside reading is off. Yes, you can shim the lifter, but why bother when measuring straight off teh tappet gets the job done.