OK, here are the results of removing the suspect head. There is a pit that runs right underneath the sealing surface/metal ring of the head gasket. There's my leak! I drew the two red lines to show the owner where the metal ring on the gasket is located.

The machine shop is going to repair it free of charge. He said he will use a nickel rod to fill in the holes and remill them.

I checked the plugs on the pass side and they were all perfect! I'm going to forget about the bolt stretch issue as I think it's non-existent, at least in my case.

The machine shop did mention that a reduction in torque is normal, although I thought the modern gaskets today don't need retorquing. I might try to partially remove the engine so I can get at the bolts. There is no room next to the AC box.