New roller cam...

id disagree and say if switching to a roller would solve my cam issue it would be a lot cheaper than risking having to rebuild the whole engine again with the flat tappet failing. any tips on keeping the flat tappet alive? yes i did all the break in procedures on comp cams website as they say to do.
Then go for it. You're the one who said you weren't made of money. You're talking about 1000 plus dollars just in the valve train. Then you need some good rocker arms on top of that. Knock it out dude.