Thanks. I will follow up.

After reading a bunch of stuff about needing to coat these things with spray ...I put the gasket on dry. (I actually flipped a coin)

It went swell, and the truck runs. It seems to get hot quicker than before. Not overheating at all, but just less than 5 minutes and the the coolant temp is 180 or better. might be the weather, ya think? I suspected combustion gasses leaking into the water jacket. I dont know...it is not enough pressure to open the cap and fill the overflow or anything. But, with the cap off it never seems to stop bubbling, like I cant bleed the air out.
-------------
As for the engine itself, I dont think I like aluminum blocks. Otherwise, it seems good enough.