I did a 400 HO and a 389 a couple of years ago. Have a look at my videos. I built a engine test cart.
I don't believe you will feel much resistance by turn by hand unless you have a lot of mech adv with your tool. Just put the tool in and run her with the drill. See if you can feel the torque and the oil flow. Also, do you experience rebuilding this engines? I'm assume you know how to break them in.
See what reading you have on your oil pressure gauge (oil in a tube type of gauge)..
I'm a little concerned about the grinding off the barb on the oil pump rod. We made the same mistake but fixed early on. When you use a test stand it makes life worth living !! lol It's so sweet when you can do a job, just yourself and no climbing under the car, everything is just right there front of you.
Gus,
I wish I had the resources to build a test stand! Definitely would have liked to do the engine break-in on a test stand! I resolved the issue, will post a follow up shortly. In short, yes, installing the shaft from the top is what led to this issue. I had originally installed the shaft from the bottom (as the oil pump was going in), but it fell through the top, as a previous rebuilder had ground the ears off the shaft (without me realizing it). It wasn't until the engine was back together and installed in the car that I realized that the shaft is supposed to have "retaining ears" to keep it from falling out!
