PUZZLER!!! My new motors a dog! what did I miss?

I would not be too concerned on that; if you get the dial indicator axis just a little off of the exact axis of the lifter, then the indicator will read a bit low and you will have to turn the crank a bit more CW to get the indicator to read .050", and the intake opening will look a bit late (retarded). That is why I feel the ICL method is better; you take numbers at .050" lifter lift on the dial indicator, and even if it is actually .052" lift at the lifter due to indicator misalignment, then that will fall out with the math of the ICL method.

MMMMM......Something written above bothers me..... " .050" before and after max lift ÷ 2 ". That is not the way I do or understand ICL; I check crank angles at .050" lift from zero lifter lift, measured at the lifter, both right after opening and just before closing. If the cam lobe is perfectly symmetrical, then if would not matter but I am not sure measuring .050" below max lift will be symmetrical due to cam profiles and controlling the valvetrain deceleration from opening and acceleration towards closing around the peak. The cam specs, including the ICL numbers, are based upon .050" lift from zero lift at the lifter, not referenced to max lift.

Plus I can't remember if you can just average the results as you have done. I need to dig out the formulas again.... supper calls first. EDIT: Yes, it looks like that method works fine for ICL as long as the intake closing is measured on a scale of 0-360 on the wheel. (I.e., typical intake closing will be 200+ degrees for a perf. cam.)