Spit spit ping

[n10zf8]

Today I pulled the cam boxes to check clearances, because I had noticed an odd intermittent sound much like spitting up near cylinder #1. Exhaust side all measured right at 0.018in on the Intake side all measured at 0.015in according to the manager I have this is within the range for a 79 2.0L. So I put it all back together (after cleaning up the cam covers and mating surfaces, and painting them) and...
Yep you guessed it the noise is now worse, still intermittent but seems more noticeable and now there is a ping that follows the spit. Would the gaskets if not seated correctly contribute to this? Is it possible I skipped a tooth on the T-belt? Any experience with something like this from anyone and where to go next would be most helpful and greatly appreciated.
Always use 91octane rating
Here is pics of before and after with new paint
Before

After

Thanks in advance
-Mike

[azruss]

how did you rotate the motor to check the valves. if you turned the motor using one of the valve pulleys, then there is a good chance you skipped a tooth. Should always turn from the crank.

[n10zf8]

Thanks, yes I did. I got to thinking about it after original post which is when I added the question about skipping.
What's the best way to resolve? I only ran the engine for about 5 minutes afterward, hoping I didn't cause any major damage.
Thanks again.
Cheers
-Mike

[azruss]

In most cases, you just jumped one tooth. If you skipped any more, your car would run like .... best thing to do is rotate the motor to TDC and see where your cam pulley holes line up. If you dont have the back plate you can use the casting marks on the cam towers to check the alignment.

[SLOSpider]

Id check the timing marks too and then run compression test. Maybe a bad valve.