Haahaahaa! I decided to take the exhaust loose at the flange. I destroyed a cheap-o impact gun, so I had to go to Lowe's to get another gun... only the Lowe's in my town was raped by a tornado over the weekend, so I had to drive to another Lowe's which was mobbed with people.
In any case, I got the flanges off and the heads came off today. One of the spark plugs had a mashed electrode, so there is the reason for the skipping... I put the heads on the bench and went at the manifolds with the impact wrench, but wound up breaking off all of the bolts. Machine shop wants $35.00 per bolt to extract them. I can buy re-manned heads for less. I am looking at Cylinder Heads international out of Dallas. the seem to be really knowledgeable and friendly enough. At $350.00 for the set and $20.00 for shipping (both ways), it doesn't seem like a bad deal.
I can't see any cracks in the heads, but some asshat put gobs of block seal in the engine and stopped up all of the cooling passages in the heads... I am probably better off ditching them for some re-manned ones anyway.
While I wait, I figured I would clean the engine bay and paint the engine parts. I also have a new water pump for it along with new belts and hoses. I am trying to figure out how to wash the engine block without getting any water into the cylinders. I am open to ideas...